Day 4: Normandy Beaches

What I learned today:

1. Sidewalks and parking lots tend to be the same thing in France.

2. The French had a tendency of beheading their royalty.

3. You can’t see everything in a museum in 30 minutes.

4. Some movies are just nap inducers.

5. I really can not understand the French language, even though my last name is French.

6. There might be such thing as a waterlope.

7. Wars leave behind scars that never heal.

More Words

Fromage = cheese
boule = scoop
jambon = ham
fritas - french fries

Today was a pretty lazy day. In retrospect we did do quite a bit, but there was down time in between. In London we did a lot and had to move ourselves around to do it. Here, we would stop look around and then be back on the bus to be driven to the next stop. I must admit it was nice. I am not nearly as tired as I have been the past few days. Although I don’t think my body has yet adjusted to the different time zone. As it is already past 11:00 at night- a time that I would normally be dozing off in the chair at home- and I am sitting here wondering why I am not tired. I am not sure if it is just the difference in my physically surroundings- like the sun doesn’t seem to ever go down or if I truly have not gotten used to the difference over here.
It rained a little bit today while we were at the cemetery. Luckily we had not taken our backpacks with us, so it was a little easier to keep everything dry. Plus, it was more a constant drizzle than a downpour so you were able to deal with it without looking like a soaked rat at the end!
We started out in Rouen with an early departure to the Normandy region. We drove for about an hour and a half before reaching our first stop. A WWII museum dedicated to preserving the history of the war. But I felt like we did not have nearly enough time to really take it in. There was only about a half hour to tour the exhibit which encompassed the entire bottom floor. Which might be long enough for some people, but as a History major it was not nearly long enough. I definitely did not have enough time to read everything and barely enough time to look at most of it. I missed entire sections because we were supposed to meet back upstairs for the short movies they show. I think I would have rather stayed in the exhibit! I am not saying they were bad, but I think there was no need to do both of them in a row. The first one was basically video clips and photos from the Normandy D-Day preparations and invasion in split screen. One side depicting the Allies and one side depicting the Axis. When the two collided it moved it into one screen. The whole thing was set to music and I felt it was quite good. (Bear in mind, I also stayed awake for the whole thing!) The second one began where the 1st one ended and was about the continuation of the war in France. I think it went battle by battle through the entire fight for France’s liberation. Needless to say, I felt a little underwhelmed and couldn’t fight off my need for a little shut eye, so I did not catch the middle of the film. I think I still got the gist of it! :)
After the museum we made our way to Arromanches, the beach where the British soldiers landed on D-Day. We had a lunch of sweet and savory crepes in the small town next to the beach. I can’t say that I am a big fan of the savory crepes, those are ones with ham, cheese or both or other similar items on them. I tried a ham and cheese crepe and only ate about half of it. The sweet crepes had anything from jelly to nutella inside. I am not a big fan of Nutella, but most people enjoyed theirs. They did not have any with strawberries and cream like what I make at home, so I was a little disappointed about that. I guess it’s good that I can make them myself!
Out in the harbor there are still remains of a man made harbor that the British created by anchoring large concrete pieces to the bottom of the ocean floor. I guess the waters were to choppy to allow for safe transport of their items onto the beach. So they created their own personal harbor which allowed for a much safer transport between the large boats to the small ones that could make it safely to shore.
After lunch we headed back to the bus and it took us to see some German Bunkers that are still intact along the hill tops surrounding the shore. From there we made our way to the American Cemetery. It reminded me a lot of Arlington National Cemetery as it is set up in a very similar way. A sea of white crosses in fields of green. In theory we were back in the United States while we were at the cemetery as it is considered US soil. I don’t think you could commit a crime there and not face French laws, but I guess I really don’t know that for sure. And I don’t think I want to test the theory! There are over 9,000 headstones in the cemetery commemorating those American soldiers who died for freedom on the European front. So it truly was a sight to see. (But to tell the truth we had an hour here and did not need that long!)
Once we were done at the Cemetery we got back on our bus and it took us up the road to Omaha Beach. This is one of the two main beaches were our soldiers landed, it is also where we had many men die before even reaching the beach and hundreds more die or get wounded on the beach itself. And after seeing it with my own eyes, I can truly see why there was such a great loss at this beach. There is no where to hide. You are open tot eh elements out there- which is normal for most beaches. The problem here was not only were they open but the German soldiers had a distinct advantage in their positions that towered over the beach. (And I have to say sorry honey because I just couldn’t help myself form collecting sand from this beach.)
From the beach we had one final stop in the Normandy area- Pointe du Hoc. This is the area in which our army rangers landed and then made their way to the top of the cliff via ropes and rope ladders. They literally climbed their way to the top to face the Germans. And the cliff is not small! What was also amazing to me here was the remains of the battles you can still see. It’s not just the remains of the bunkers that are still visible. There are tons of craters everywhere. A result of the bombs that were shot at the german forces atop the embankment. It’s like what I picture the surface of the moon to be like if you attempted to walk on it. they are all grown over now with bushes and grass, but they are still a very defined part of the landscape.
The kids had a good time in this area, as they were pretty much allowed to run free. They even had a good time “playing dead” in one of the craters. Which probably wasn’t very PC (politically correct) but oh well. Not much can be done now!
That ended our trip through the different aspects of Normandy and the role it played in WWII and D-Day especially. I must say I have a much deeper appreciation for what happened there now that I have first hand experience with it. I am almost regretting not being a History teacher any longer where I could actually put this new knowledge and experience to use. Almost....!
After a 3 hour bus ride we landed here in St.Malo at a converted Abbey that now serves as a Hotel. The rooms are bigger than last night. But where we were complaining about not having an air conditioner last night we are now wishing we had a heater. As it is a tad chilly! Hopefully the blankets will keep us warm.
I hope I am not leaving anything out and I hope I am not boring everyone to death. But even if I am I think it will be a rich blessing for me to have this written down when I get home, because I am pretty sure all the details would be lost in a jumble of all the experiences I have had and am destined to have on this trip.

Day 3: Canterbury and Rouen

Things I learned today:

1. The English monarchy spoke french for hundreds of years

2. The White Cliffs of Dover are truly white

3. You can only wear a backpack for so many days before it starts to chaff your underarms

4. I’m not that light on my feet.

5. Umbrellas really aren’t that proficient at keeping the rain off anything

6. Pink toilet paper really isn’t that attractive in the bathroom

7. Sometimes you just can’t hold your breath through a tunnel

8. There’s graffiti everywhere!

9. The French Countryside is beautiful.

10. Only the English drive on the right side of the road.


More Words

Carriage Way = Road
dosh = bill
motoring = driving
stone = unit of weight

What a day. It’s amazing how much can be accomplished in one day! And today was a pretty relaxed day as far as EF tours go. We started off the day in England with our fantastic breakfast that I have previously described! (Yuck!!) The day was pretty overcast and it looked like it had drizzled over night, but there was no rain falling at that time. We boarded our coaches and drove to Canterbury. I would say it was about an hour and a half drive to get there all of which was pretty nondescript. The kids played cards in the back and the adults were up front taking in the sights.
When we arrived in Canterbury the coaches dropped us off and we walked into town. (This will be important as the story progresses) They dropped us up near the top of canterbury as if they drive into town the walk from the actual Coach parking is actually further then where we were let out.
The Cathedral there is amazing! It’s humongous and extremely ornate. Stain class windows all around and detail work in stone that truly makes you marvel. There is a lot of history behind the Cathedral (of course) but what I found extremely interesting was the extreme measures they went to during WWII to make sure it was not destroyed.
I guess they assigned people every night to the top of the Cathedral to protect it from any fires that might break out due to the German bombing raids. Who knew the biggest threat to a stone structure would be fire! I thought it would be more a direct hit from an actual bomb itself.
We had about 40 minutes or so to roam around the structure and take in what it had to offer before we had to meet outside for the trek back to the coaches. As we were congregating outside the gates England decided to show us its wetter side. Basically, the heavens opened and poured out its blessings! At first it wasn’t too bad, we all rushed to get our wind breakers/raincoats on and our umbrellas out if we had them with us. (I did and was very grateful for it!) But then we had to keep standing around waiting for everyone to join us for our return walk. And the rain just kept getting harder. People with just the wind breakers did not have a hood so they were getting quite wet and the rest of us were just trying to keep the rain off as best we could.
We finally left and started walking back- even though we were still missing one chaperone form the other school. I guess she had gone off to a T-Mobile shop to try and figure out why her phone was not working. Let’s just say that by the time we actually arrived at the coaches, we all looked like drowned rats. Even those with Umbrellas! As they really don’t help much in keeping rain off anything but your head. Which I must say that I was grateful not to have a head full of drenched hair. It was bad enough to have the entire bottom half of your pants wet as well as your backpack you are carrying and parts of your middle where the rain falls off the umbrella and onto you!
Once we got back to the coaches we still had to wait for almost 15-20 minutes before they found the missing chaperone and hauled her back up to the bus. (Although maybe her disappearing act was done on purpose on her part as by the time she made the trek the rain had stopped!) Needless ot say this event put us behind schedule and the guides were very afraid that we would not make our afternoon ferry out of Dover. Especially because once we actually arrived at the docks we still had to make our way through customs.
That was an experience. We all had to exit our coach with our passports and go into a customs check. While we were in the building, a drug dog was taken onto the bus to find whatever drugs we might be trying to smuggle in! Lucky, for us nothing was found! :) And luck continued to be with us and we made our ferry-mostly because it was late arriving!
The ferry across the English Channel was quite large. Much larger then the ferries across the Chesapeake Bay for example! It almost looked and felt like a small cruise ship. It took about an hour and a half to get across the Channel which is about 14 miles wide. So we weren’t moving at a very quick pace! But it was quite choppy out on the water so it was a very rocky ride. I was very glad that none of the cruises I have been on were even close to that rocky!
Upon arriving in France we once again boarded a coach and started driving to our final destination which was to be the city of Rouen. The drive was mostly through what I would call the countryside of France. It was absolutely beautiful, Rolling hills, green trees, fields, and pastures with different types of livestock. Many parts of the drive reminded me of the road to my brothers house in Oregon where you are just surrounded on both sides by trees. All in all the drive to Rouen took a few hours so it let everyone attempt to rest. A hard feat because the chairs must have been fashioned for the french. The chairs just seemed to hit in all the wrong places! It was almost as bad as the plane! Okay, not quite but close! (What's bad is I think this is our coach for the remainder of our time in France-which is not a happy thought!)
When we finally arrived in Rouen it was 8:30 at night. But it seemed more like 5:00, as it was still quite bright outside. (After traveling over the channel we are now 9 hours ahead of Vegas). We stopped at the hotel prior to dinner, and it was an event. Our entire group was given rooms on the 5th floor. So we made our way up to the 5th floor via the tiny elevators (that should have clued us in to what lay in store but it didn’t) and down the hall that indicated the direction our rooms were located. We were assigned room 531. The problem was the hall ended at room 527. There was no 531 to be found. We also had other folks with rooms in the 30’s that were not on the floor either, so we knew they had to be somewhere. Finally I left my stuff and tried the stairwell at the end of the hall. And wouldn’t you know it- Rooms 528 - 535 were up a level. which you would assume was the 6th floor, but this little alcove of rooms couldn't be accessed from the 6th floor. The only way to reach them was to take the stairs. So we got the opportunity to carry our belongings up two flights of stairs.
I am not sure how to explain the rooms without sounding like I am exaggerating the dimensions, but here it goes anyway. The room had two twin size beds (if they were that large) that were about 1 1/2 feet away from each other. The one closest to the door was right up against the wall the other was about 4 feet from the far wall. There was a small counter on the other side of the 2nd bed you could use with the mirror on the wall. The bathroom was on the right side as you passed the 2nd bed. It might have been 5 feet by 3 feet. There was a small shower on the right with a sink right next door and then the toilet. The shower did not even have it’s own faucet. You used the faucet on the sink to control the water flow in the shower! Once we added our suitcases to the room, there was hardly any room left to maneuver. There is also no air conditioning, so I hope its cool enough outside to keep us cool in here with the window open. Oh well, its only for one night. I am sure we will survive!
We had dinner at a little restaurant that claimed to be Chilean food, but they served us pasta so that was interesting, Everyone also found the dessert amusing as it was basically fruit cocktail from a can with bananas and some whipped cream. Perhaps it wasn’t from a can but it sure did taste like it was!
After dinner we spent about an hour touring the city of Rouen by foot. They have an amazing Cathedral there too. It was a very Gothic style of architecture compared to the Canterbury Cathedral we toured this morning. It was at this Cathedral that Joan of Arc was tried and sentenced to death at. We also went to the site of the old market where she was burned at the stake. There is now a church built near the spot and a rose garden where the cross would have been. We also saw the Seine river-which wasn’t as big as I thought it would be. They also pronounce it different than i thought, it is just the “sin” river. (According to our guides the french add a lot of vowels to their words that they actually don’t use! ) The rest of the architecture was not what I expected, it looked a lot more like somethign from greenland or the netherlands-it seemed very cottage like. Which I did not picture as a part of France.
So as you can see we really didn’t do all that much today, but it still ends up being a very long day. It is almost 1 am and we have to up in time for breakfast at 7:30 so I better get some rest. Our guides so it is going to be a late night tomorrow. I can’t imagine how late it will be as it felt like a late night this evening to me! :)
Oh, and I bought something that my Mom and sister are going to be very jealous over! But there was only one left and I don’ t think I would have been able to transport 3 of them home anyway without leaving all my clothes behind and just using my suitcase for transport purposes!

Day 2: London

Things I learned today:

1. English people have a very unique sense of style, and not in a good way.

2. Most of the public parks in central London were used as burial pits during the plague, the bodies or what remains of them are still there.

3. Driving in London is like driving in New York- small roads and tons of cars.

4. if you want to drive your car into Londons “Congestion Zone” it will cost you 8 pounds a day! (Remember that is equivalent to $16!)

5. Jack the Ripper was not a nice guy.

6. There are no happy California cows in England.

7. Big Ben is actually the bell inside the Clock tower, not the tower itself.

8. London Tower is not really a tower, it is an old palace.

9. The Beefeaters hats are made out of real bear skin.

10. Some art I just don’t get!


More Words:

a clamp = a boot (on your car tire)
let = rent
gerkin = pickle
coach = bus

Today we arose nice and early in the morning (the wake up call came at 6:05 am) for a Continental Breakfast at the hotel. And in relation to all my past experiences with hotels and the EF tours, this breakfast wasn’t worth getting up for. Let me give you a quick run down of the food that was offered: Toast (white or wheat), small rolls, bananas, oranges, apples, yogurt, grapefruit pieces, and cold cereal. That was it. There was coffee, orange juice and milk to drink. But the Orange Juice was nasty- it doesn’t taste fresh squeezed at all like it claims to be, but it doesn’t even taste as good as the processed stuff we have at home. And don’t get me started on the milk. That is some weird stuff! I am not sure what is wrong with the cows here but that is not milk. (Maybe it’s not from a cow at all!)
After our lovely breakfast spread, we congregated in the main lobby to wait for our coaches to arrive. We were going to start the day off with a guided bus tour of the city. Since our group is so large, we need two buses to get us around. The first bus arrived and Group #1 was on their way. Our group was not so fortunate. The bus we were to travel on broke down on its way to the hotel. So we were delayed about 30 -45 minutes. But we were grateful that we had not already boarded the bus prior to its breakdown! Or we might have been stuck along side the road somewhere instead of in the hotel lobby. Lucky for us, the company sent out a new coach and we were still able to complete the tour.
During the tour we saw more of the famous sites around London including: The Tower of London, The Parliament Buildings (House of Lords and House of Commons), The Eye of London (again but from different angles) The London Bridge, St. Pauls Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey. The tour ended at Buckingham palace were we got to watch the changing of the guards. I was a little disappointed by that process because the Beefeaters were not on duty. They have other types of guards (which I can not remember the name of) that sometime take the job of guarding the palace. So I did not get to see the actual beefeaters in person! :(

When our guided bus tour was over we had a little time to do out own thing. Lucky for me I was able to talk my group into going to the Hard Rock Cafe. (My friend Haley got me hooked on collecting the guitar pins from the different Hard Rocks around the world.) After the hard rock we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed to the National Gallery- a free art museum located at Trafalgar Square.
Like any art museum there is a ton to see. So we focused on the big names like Leonardo Di Vinci, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Picasso, Degas, and Monet. I must admit I liked the student way of attending an art museum! You arrive, walk a few places, read some of the descriptions, and then move on to the next activity. Don;t get me wrong I really like art most of the time. But at times there is just so much to look at and much of it I just don’t find that appealing. I can only look at so many self portraits!

I did run into a painting that I really liked by someone I have never heard of before. The painters name is Akseli Gallen-Kallela and the painting was called Lake Keitele. It was really awesome, or at least I thought so. I almost bought an actual print of it - or at least a replica print of it. But it was 35 pounds ($70) for the small one. So I constrained myself and from talking to Justin that was probably a good thing. Since he was working on fixing our flat roof today and managed to “almost fall” through. Which means I now have a hole that will need to be repaired in the ceiling of my living room!
For dinner we went to Chowki, an Indian Cuisine restaurant. Most of the kids had never had curry before so it was a new experience for them. They did pretty well with it- with only a few needing to get some sandwiches on the way home to tide them over until Breakfast in the morning.

After dinner we went and saw Platform 9 3/4. For those not familiar with Harry Potter this is the platform they use to get to the Hogwarts express. And yes, they made a platform specifically for the book, not the other way around! We took a few photos of the kids as the attempted to make there way through the barrier, none of which were successful. So I guess none of them are destined to be Witches or Wizards!
From there we made our way across London to the Tower of London were we started a night tour called “Jack the Ripper”. Basically, we walked around to the different sites and learned all about the heinous crimes committed by a person the paper dubbed “Jack the Ripper”. It was interesting but a little gory for some of the kids- but they seemed to be fine with ut. Hopefully there are no frantic calls in the middle of the night from children who have awoken from a terrible nightmare!
The day was very full again as you can see. My feet are aching, my eyes are drooping, and I still have to take a shower in an attempt to clean off some of the days grime! I miss you all- especially my boys!

Day 1: London

Some things I have learned:

1. No matter how big a plane is on the outside, economy is still economy.








2. A hundred US dollars is only equal to 50 Pounds.

3. Some people are just excited about everything.

4. England is Muggy!

5. English words don’t mean the same thing over here

rubbish = garbage
loo = restroom
chip = french fry
crisp = chip
tube = subway
mate = friend

6. Always remember to look left- as that is where the cars are coming from.

7. There is a red/yellow light that prepares people for the green light.

8. There is an 8 hour time difference between here and home. (As I am typing it is 9:30 at night but at home it is barely 1:30 in the afternoon.)

9. A babies cry makes me terribly homesick.

10. It stays light outside a lot longer than at home. (It is quarter to 10:00 at night in this picture taken from my hotel room!)

11. I still don’t like to eat fish.

12. The hotel wants to charge you 5 pounds an hour to use the internet (that's equivalent to $10 dollars) but you can get it for free at McDonalds!

13. They will do like ot serve things Tepid here- even the items that have supposedly been chilled are barely cool to the touch let alone very refreshing going down.!

Overall, the trip has been really good so far. We are all exhausted from a 9 hour flight where they hardly let you sleep! (It felt like every time I dozed off they were wanting to give me something else to eat. From the snack, then the dinner, then the beverage cart, and then the breakfast we hardly had time to snooze. Or so it seemed. perhaps it was because I was sitting on the aisle and knew every time they went by as they never failed to bump a part of me in passing.) Luckily there was enough onboard entertainment to keep everyone occupied. Each chair had its own personal screen set into the back of the seat in front of it. You could play games, watch a variety of movies (at least 20 that looped the entire flight), or watch how the flight was progressing.
That is officially the longest flight I have ever been on that I personally remember. And I am seriously dreading the return flight next Friday. If the width of my behind was a little smaller, it might not be such an ordeal. But it isn’t so I attempt to get comfortable without ever actually attaining that goal. Oh well, maybe by next year!
After arriving in London, we made out way through what we thought was the customs area. Which took at least 45 minutes and looked something like a line at Disneyland on a busy day but without any type of big reward at the end. At least not when we realized we hadn’t finished going through customs but had only made it through the passport verification part of it! Luckily the rest of it didn’t take very long as we had nothing to declare as we had just then arrived in the country. On the way back it might be a little more grueling as people will no doubt be returning with souvenirs!
Once we finally made it through the maze of the terminal we met up with our two Tour Directors-Alex and Sityra. We have about 50 people total in our group that are all in Europe for 12 days. They sent us one bus for all the people and the luggage. Let’s just say that it was a feat that we actually got all that luggage minus one stowed in the undercarriage. It also took a little longer than expected as we had top pack and repack the storage area at least 3 different times! But thankfully it was finally all stowed and we were on our way.
We made our way through the “green zone” otherwise known as “London’s Lungs”. It is an area of the country set aside for trees to be grown. The idea is that with the increase in foliage there will be a decrease in the smog problems that face London.
After a short bus trip we arrived at our Hotel, The Jurys Inn. But no check-ins were allowed until 2:00 pm so we just dropped off our bags into a secure area and headed out on our first walking tour of London. But to get to where we were going to be doing the “walking: we first had to use the Overground train and the Tube to get us into the heart of London. (as a side not let me just say that the picture most people have of London of these quaint little brick buildingsreveling in their rich history, is undoubtedly correct! I have never truly sat down and drawn out a mental map of what London would look like, but if I had this would be it. You can feel of its history just by walking down the streets.
We saw quite a few things today including Trafalgar Square, Big Ben and the eye of London (from a Distance), the oldest church in London, and Covent Gardens. We ate lunch in a park- I had a very tasty baguette sandwich and apple soda with crisps-or chips as we like to call them- all for 3 pounds. Which I thought was quite a bargain when you look at the cost of a Big Mac at McDonalds out here- its over 4 pounds just for the burger. After the tour we continued the walking tour, seeing one of the oldest streets in all of London. We then had some time to peruse the many different store fronts in Covent Gardens. I didn’t buy any souvenirs today as I did not find anything that caught my eye, but I am sure it wont take long.
After watching some street performers, we made our way to dinner at the Old Cock Tavern- the oldest pub in London. And we had a traditional English meal of Fish & Chips. And although I could have opted out of this meal and gone for the vegetarian plate instead-i restrained myself and decided I needed to experience this cultural phenomena.
And I did. I ate fish! I can’t say that I particularly liked it very much, but I ate it nonetheless! (Okay, I didn’t eat the whole thing and it was covered in a batter and deep fried with a little ketchup to mask the taste! but I did take some bites. So we are at least getting somewhere!)
Thankfully after dinner we made out way back to our Hotel. Everyone is exhausted and we haven’t really truly stopped since yesterday when we got on the plane. I think I will sleep very well tonight.
And I think I should feel rigth at home here as my roommate snores! It will remind my of Justin! Too bad I can’t just reach over and tell her to roll over in the hopes that it will squelch the noise -at least temporairly! I am also freezing as the air is on full blast and as low as it can go- that will be changing before I call it a night!!

Schools out!

Wednesday was the last day of school for students. But as Teachers we did not have out last official day until Thursday! There is nothing fair about that - but this year it was a definite necessity as our staff is preparing to move into a new building.

We lost our gym to a fire in the summer of 2005. (I had actually been at work that day as I was finishing up a class I had been teaching. But at the time it caught fire I was at home packing for a trip to see Haley in DC when I got a call from a friend that said my school was on fire.) Since that time we have been limping along without a gym and waiting anxiously for our new campus to be ready. (The School District decided it was cheaper to build a new campus than it would be to retrofit the existing school and build a new gym. Roy Martin was opened in 1958, so it has seen a lot of changes, many of which it has not been capable of handling very well- like Air Conditioning and Networking for Computers!
Although we have been waiting somewhat patiently we are very excited to finally see an end to the wait. The new campus is supposed to be released on August 12th. And school starts on August 25th. If you do the math that really is not a lot of time to completely set up a new school- especially since we are not allowed in until 5 days after the 12th. As the District needs those five days to move in all the new stuff for the building.
The new building will be the first two story middle school in the Clark County School District. So no one has ever had to work in this model school yet. Which means we are basically the guinea pigs. (It will be very interesting I think. As there are some things I am still waiting to see how they work. Like the fact that there are no ramps to access the top floor!!) A few of us got to walk through the building on Wednesday afternoon and although it still seems to have a ton of work left it definitely looks like a school. I was very surrised at how small the rooms seem. The average size is 30 X 30. Which sounds small to me and looked even smaller. I am not sure how 36+ student desks are going to fit. Let alone how those are going to fit with all the other items like bookshelves, teacher desks, wardrobes, etc. I guess we will have to wait and see.
Let me just say that I am not excited at all about all the work that awaits me. I am nowhere near ready to leave the existing building, let alone ready to tackle the amount of work it is going to take just to get the new building with all the new equipment set up and ready to go. I think to myself that it will be okay because I have the summer to get it done. But when I look at my calendar for the summer, there really are not that many weeks that I will actually be available to work as there are many different activities that we are planning for these summer months.

Big Events Looming on the Horizon

There are a few major events coming up in my life.

First and foremost, my little boy is turning 1 on the 28th of June. I can not believe he is getting so big. He truly is our little miracle and our lives have been so blessed by having him here. (Even the sleepless nights are something I will probably cherish someday! But since he still has not slept through the night it's hard to ever think that!) I have a good idea for a party, but I am thinking that it's a little much for a first birthday. So I keep wondering if I should just save the idea for a time when he might actually remember the event occurred!

Second is my trip to Europe. Yes, that's right! I am heading overseas a week from today. I am traveling as a chaperone with a group of about 18 from my school to Europe. More specifically we are traveling to England, France, & the Netherlands. I am nowhere near ready to go, but that probably won't stop me from going! What's especially nice is that as a chaperone, I am going for free. So not only am I going to Europe, but I am going on someone else's dime! I am not sure the idea has really sunk in yet, or if I am just too busy with everything else to really dwell on the magnitude of the situation! It will probably hit me on the nonstop flight from Vegas to London! (Yes, I said nonstop! I sure hope that plane holds a lot of gas!!)
We are traveling for 12 days through the different countries. And from the looks of the itinerary all 12 of those days are going to be jam packed. This is not my first tour with this particular company, so I pretty much know what to expect. It's just the fact that it is an entirely different continent that has me a little on edge! I am sure it will be amazing, and it just might a once in a life time experience. Who knows when if ever I will get back there.

The Best Cookies Ever

I think the best cookies ever have got to be "Buffalo Chip Cookies". I just have this intense memory of how awesome these cookies are. So when my work decided to have a "Bake-Off" I knew these were the winners! But when I went to make them, I could not find my recipe anywhere! Luckily, my brother saved the day! So to make sure that it is never a problem again, I am going to record the recipe here!!

Buffalo Chip Cookies

1 lb butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 cups dark brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
6 cups flour

Cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients except milk chocolate chips. Slowly add dry ingredients a little bit at a time to the creamed mixture. Stir in chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.