Tucson, Arizona

My work sent me to Tucson, Arizona this past week for a symposium regarding a product that we utilize. The hotel, Loews' Ventana Canyon Resort and Spa, was gorgeous. It was set in the mountains with beautiful views, a waterfall, and hiking trails. The staff was so accommodating and friendly. Vince and I drove to Tombstone on the last afternoon we were there. The town was mostly vacant. We enjoyed an OK Corral shootout reenactment, historama of the town, and dinner at the Crystal Palace. Arizona has an interesting landscape with mountains all around, with a desert setting including cacti everywhere.

 The symposium had a cowboy themed night that we attended. The food was awesome, as was the entertainment.

Vince bought me a cool skull hat.

Evan's Baseball Team

Evan signed up for his first ever sports team, the Crusaders through Carolina Miracle League. Evan typically only does therapies (speech, occupational, and physical therapy). This is the first time he's ever participated in a team sport. He did so great during his first game. They paired him with two volunteers to help keep his hat on, and to keep him on track. The number on his jersey is number 1!

Biltmore Picnic

Vince and I used to picnic at the Biltmore years ago. I think Evan was a little baby the last time we packed a picnic lunch and ate up there. We took the boys and found a great spot between the river and a large pond on the Biltmore property. We saw ducks and turtles in the pond. It was a beautiful day for a picnic.We ate tortilla roll up sandwiches, chips, popcorn, & watermelon.

 We also enjoyed the playground at Antler Hill Village.

Alex's Camo Yellow Belt

Alex earned his first belt in karate, the camo yellow belt. The belts will have camouflage on them until he's 7 years old. Then he will move to the solid colors.

Halter Fundraiser

Evan had such a great experience with Halter this past summer during his camp week with the horses. Vince and I attended their annual fundraiser called Horsing Around with Halter. They served great BBQ and cookies. The band was terrific. I love Halter and their cause.

Back to School 2019

The boys are finally at the same elementary school. Alex started kindergarten and Evan started first grade. The boys' classes are next door to each other. They see each other on the playground, in the cafeteria, and in the library. I'm so glad that Alex can let me know about his & Evan's day. We love their new teachers this year.

 I also started back to school. Converse accepted me into their Doctoral of Education program. My degree will be an EdD in Professional Leadership. I'm excited to start back to school this fall.

London, England

Vince and I were given the opportunity to visit London this summer. My sister had prepaid for a room last year that needed to be used by the end of July. Vince and I were able to grab some standby flight tickets and made it to England on Friday. The first day we slept a few hours after checking into our hotel. The overnight flight was not comfy and we did not sleep much. We had to walk through a rain storm to find our hotel. The rest of the long weekend, the weather was great.

We explored the area around us at Victoria Station and found several nice restaurants and stores. We ate the customary fish & chips, along with mushy peas. The next few days we spent as tourists checking out all the fun places to visit. We rode subways (the tube), buses, a boat, and walked a LOT.

Wellington Arch

Big Ben (under construction) and Parliament

Boat tour

Buckingham Palace (all the indoor tours were sold out)

Charcuterie board from Doggett's

Fish & Chips with mushy peas

French restaurant with great steak

HMS Belfast self-guided tour

Inside St. Paul's Cathedral, where my grandmother grew up attending

Kensington Palace outfit from the 1700s

Inside Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace crown jewels worn by Queen Vicgtoria

The memorial playground looked fun, but we were not allowed in without children

Kensington Palace front entrance

Kensington Palace - Queen Victoria's statue

Kensington Palace outfit from the 1700s

Kensington Palace gardens

Little Ben in front of Victoria Station

London Eye

Phone booth

Meat pie from Doggett's

Mediterranean food

Notting Hill

Paddington Train Station

Royal Mews coach

Royal Mews golden coach

Royal Mews entrance

Royal Mews Queen's Bentley

St Paul's steps - we walked them all

View from top of St. Paul's

St. Pauls - we climbed up to that top little dome

Steak from the French restaurant

Building my grandmother grew up in is now an Optician

Street my grandmother grew up on

The Shard

Tower of London and Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge looking down from the glass floor

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge tour

View from Tower Bridge

Tower of London character

Roast chicken lunch at Tower of London

Clock at Tower of London

Guard of Tower of London

Tower of London worker

Outside Tower of London

St Paul's windy area to the staircase

Meeting cousin Vic for lunch

Doggett's was a great restaurant where Vic took us to eat

Vic's mates from his early days

Westminster Abbey (they closed 10 minutes early right as we arrived so we missed the inside tour)

Westminster Cathedral held mass

Westminster Cathedral

It was a whirlwind trip with a 9 hour plane ride there and back. We toured Saturday - Monday and flew back home on Tuesday. Thanks to Vince's parents, my parents, and my sister & her kids (plus Cody) for watching the boys and keeping them on schedule. They had birthday parties both Saturday and Sunday, so they had a great time while we were away. It was the first time we ever left them for more than 1 night, but everyone did great. I'm ready to go on vacation again!