2010 is now here

Lynn and Ray at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. This exhibit on the life of Genghis Khan and the life in the 13th century Mongolia was extremely well done. We experienced the sounds of Battle grounds, market places and a life that has now vanished.

The rest of our group......Alissa, Amber and Donna, and of course Mongolia's most revered leader. A real bronze monument like this is at the entrance to the parliament building in the Mongolian capitol, Allaanbaatar, looking on Sukhboatar Square, the city center.

Our flight back to Florida turn out to be real long. We gave up our tickets to get two free flights..... They gave us first class tickets with 4 hour lay overs in Colorado Springs and Chicago. This is Grandpa John in first class.... his first time in first class..... He was like a boy in a candy jar..... a chocolate candy jar....... I told him if he didn't start behaving I would take a picture of him........ so I did!!!!!!!!

Ella, Pam and John. Pam is our sister-in-law. We had only a short 2 days with her. It was great to have some time with her.... last time we were there she was away in West Virginia helping her Mom.

Next, we were off to Aunt Sally and Uncle George's home in Davie, Florida. We had a fabulous time with great food and a lot of reminiscing. Uncle George is 92 and they are a busy square dancing couple. Their home was in splendid Christmas decor..... They really have the Christmas spirit.

Happy 2010 Colorado Style

Great skating with Grandma.................

Look...... Mom can keep up with us....

Happy New Year Everyone

Great family, great fun! We are so blessed!!!!!!!

Christmas in Colorado Springs

Ray, Lynn, Amber and Alissa.....




Christmas Scavenger Hunt........ again for Christmas......................




Jonell's family joins in for a White Christmas...... See the snow angels??????

Wow..... what fun........ event the Moms love this sledding..... It was a great day.......sun was out, no wind and a great sledding hill. Thanks Lynn for all the great activities.

Christmas week in Georgia

Westview Baptist Church...... We went to a Christmas Cantata..... The music was lovely and homilies were full of the Christmas Spirit.

Next we attended the Shirley Hills Baptist Church in Warner Robins. They had a grand program called "A Walk Through Bethlehem". This was only open on the 19 and 20 of December from 3-10pm. We entered the town of Bethlehem in groups of about 15. We were given a tour guide who was there to help us find lodging.

I really wish my pictures had turned out better but I was told that there was no flash photography in these days.

Anyway....... as we entered Bethlehem we each had to pay taxes (they gave us coins). They had chickens running loose, a camel, and many merchants who sold all kinds of items, such as..... bread, candles, pottery, silk, a carpenter and a basket weaver, to mention some. So you really got immersed into the sounds, smells and sights that was Bethlehem the night Jesus was born. The walls, the ground and each merchant looked real. The tour guide would ask each merchant if they knew a place for us to stay but the answer was always the same "No room in the Inn."

Eventually, we came across some sheperds and while talking with them an Angel appeared and announced.................

"Christ is born in Bethlehem......Glory to the new born King"

We followed the sheperds and were led to where the baby laid in the manger. Let me tell you ..... this was so well done. We then were led to hot coffee or hot chocolate and cookies. I am sure our God is well pleased with everyone who was apart of this program.

Wormsloe Historic Site, Savannah, Georgia

Wormsloe Historic Site....... The home site of Jones Wormslow. Sheltered by live oak trees and Spanish moss, this road takes you to the ruins of Wormsloe Estate. Jones & family were original settlers in Georgia, arriving in Savannah with James Oglethorpe on February 1, 1733. He was a middle class carpenter in England. When he came to Georgia his new roles were: constable, physician, surveyor, Indian Agent, soldier, member of the royal council, treasurer, senior justice of the providence. Wormslow was also know for his horticulture efforts.

The original structural model of the Wormsloe home and fortress.

Showing the outside wall of the fortress.

Isn't this just like brothers..... And best of friends.

The best of Georgia.. our friends, Julie and Mike!!

Savannah, Georgia

Colonial Park Cemetery......These are grave sites right here in the heart of Savannah. They are graves from 1775-1783, in memory of patriots of American Revolution.

This is a typical street in Savannah.

The home of Juliette Gordon Low...... She is the founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA. She was born on October 31, 1860.

Good friends and good Southern food.

Tybee Lighthouse, Georgia

Tybee Island Lighthouse...... Ordered by General James Oglethorp, governor of the 13th colony, in 1732, the Tybee Light Station has been guided mariners safe entrance into the Savannah River over 270 years.

This is the original model of the lighthouse.

The lighthouse has 178 steps up to the light, with window landings to look out about over 25 steps.

This is just one angle of the view from the top of the lighthouse.

The lighthouse has the first Fresnel lens 9 feet tall. It was beautiful to see.

Friends and Robins Air Force Aviation Museum

Robins Air Force Base Museum, Georgia...... A museum full of Aviation from past wars with a particular emphasis on outstanding men/women from Georgia.

Mike and John in front of the museum..... note behind the two handsome men is a Boeing B18 Lancer. The Lancer has a wing swept of 78ft, 147ft length, and a speed of 900+ mph.

Looks BIG doesn't it boys?????

My battery died after taking this picture..... You know this is a Flying Tiger plane...... flown in WWll...... But the rest of the story is..... the battery is made in Japan. Heeeeee..........

I really love all the information they had on WWll and the Flying Tigers. When we were in China..... in Chun Ching to be exact.....the people there had great admiration for the men of the Flying Tigers. This little niche of history is very interesting to me..... will have to find a book about that part of history sometime.

I found a very interesting story about Brigadier General Robert Lee Scott, who was a Flying Tiger. As a pilot he saw The Great Wall from the air, and promised himself to walk the Wall someday. Finally in 1980, he walked The Wall at the age of 72. He traveled almost 2,000 miles from Tibet to the Yellow Sea and only toting a knapsack filled with homemade oatmeal cookies and water...... ( I have his recipe) ........ and have now made them several times. The cookies are delicious.

Cocoa Beach and Astronaut Hall of Fame

Cocoa Beach....... What a nice place, but a little humid the day we were there.

The beach had great warm Atlantic water and it reminded me of Pensacola beaches. We picked up a lot of sand shells to do some art work with Grandchildren.

The Astronaut Hall of Fame..... What a great place to learn all about the United States adventures into outer space and beyond. A real monument to our astronauts.

This is the entrance ....John with Alan Shepard. They are both pretty impressive don't you think???? What a great place to see the history of our Space Program. As President John Kennedy said in 1961...."It will not be one man going to the moon, it will be an entire nation, for each of us must work to put him there."

Look Grandpa in a space shuttle!!!!! WOW....and he barely fit. And he was quick to say that it was not comfortable.

Animal Kingdom - Disney

Now isn't this beautiful???? This is a bat flight. Wow, just live Batman!!!! How interesting to see them up close.

FLIGHTS OF WONDER..... They had several demonstrations of birds doing various things but this Eagle was very impressive to me. Isn't he beautiful.

HARAMBE WILD LIFE PRESERVE...

We took an African Safari ride thru this wonderfully kept preserve. We saw hippopotamus, elephants bathing, zebras, lions and more. You did not see any fences and the way they were contained was amazing. It was just like being on a real safari. These bulls have the longest horns I have ever seen.

ANIMAL KINGDOM PARADE...... It was great with many very colorful designed birds, great floats and dancers.

DINOLAND........ Yes, they even had a dinosaur land. Can you see the dino is wearing a Santa hat.......heeeeee

Animal Kingdom - Disney, Fl

DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM......What a place this was... we could not believe how beautifully it was done. And the truth be know, we thought we would see everything we wanted to see in a few hours. Right after the entrance we opened the map..... "Lordie, Lordie it is huge"...... And we stayed until the gates closed.

THE TREE OF LIFE.... and oh what a tree it is to you see all the gnarls? Well they are animals.

Know do you see??... See the hippo , monkey, alligator and snake?

Now have you ever see an live tree branch.... literally moving???? Can you see the face??????

This is Diana and Suriya..... remember them from Sacramento?? We had a nice but way to fast lunch with them & their 2 children in Orlando. How great to back in touch with good friends. They now live in Florida.