Chania

The girls are back in school and I think we're finally getting into the swing of things once again.  I have a lot of pictures to upload from the summer.  I'll try to upload something new several times a week.  It just seems life has become crazier than usual lately and my blog has had to take a back seat to the chaos.  When I checked my e-mail this morning, there was a link to this video of Chania, Crete, from my friend Janan who is currently living there with her husband Ed.  It brought back so many memories as Doug and I lived on the island only about 10 minutes from Chania for a year from Oct of 1999- Oct of 2000.  I would love to go back sometime for a visit and have a chance to introduce the peanut gallery to octopus and squid (two of my favorites)! I also just melt at the thought of pictures to be taken, other delectable food to be eaten, swimming and lounging to be done, labyrinths of streets to wander, and history to be explored. 

Goodbye God, I'm going to Bodie.

I decided that I just couldn't make it to Alabama this summer with all three kids in tow. Traveling with the peanut gallery always takes a year or two off my life but I was sure it would be worse this time around. Jacob is a very busy little guy and he has a ton of items on his "to do" list. One of those items is to scream and writhe like crazy any time he is strapped into a carseat. My baby is a happy baby but not a happy traveler. Fortunately, the parents made the decision to come this way instead. I was more than elated to have my dad, stepmom, and stepgrandmother in town for 6 days. They just left this past Tuesday. We had a great time but I think I was over ambitious and tried to fit in too much. We made a marathon trip to Yosemite, Mono Lake, Bodie (Jakie stayed home with our babysitter on Friday and then with his Daddy on Saturday), and spent a day in old town Sac. We had also planned to go to Napa but everyone was too pooped.

I took a ton of pictures and haven't had a chance to go through all of them yet. The kids and I have come down with a cold. The peanut gallery are all on antibiotics for ear infections and are still running low-grade fevers. We all just want to sleep...a lot.

I thought I'd start with a few shots from Bodie. I've wanted to visit forever but we're usually only in Yosemite in the winter and Tioga Road is always closed. It was really spectacular and I could have spent the entire day there. Bodie has an interesting history. Small town. Gold discovered. Population rose to 10,000. With the rise of the population, along came the rise of lawlessness and saloons (65 in its heyday). Bodie became known as "the most lawless, wildest and toughest mining camp the far west has ever known". Frequent killings in the street. Town abandoned after WWII. Became a national park in 1962 and is considered by many to be California's official ghost town.

Pictures from the rest of the trip soon along with video from a play the girls were in this summer...it's pretty stinkin' cute.

Handsome Henry

I saw a ship a-sailing,

A-sailing on the sea;

And oh, it was all laden

With pretty things for thee!

There were comfits in the cabin,

And apples in the hold;

The sails were made of silk,

And the masts were made of gold.

The four and twenty sailors,

That stood between the decks,

Were four and twenty white mice,

With chains about their necks.

The captain was a duck,

With a packet on his back;

And when the ship began to move,

The captain said, "Quack, Quack!"