Oma's Visit to Germany

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Just a bit of a disclaimer here . . . I checked this out today, and boy this is one small way to see this!!!  Sorry .  . . I was making the book for Oma for Christmas and when I finished, it said I could "share" it.  Once I realized that I could just post the book here, I thought I would!  That was easy, but it really is too small to see.  Oh well . . . get out the magnifying glass and enjoy!

ENJOY!!!

What???!!! SEVENTEEN??!!

So . . . as you've already heard from the two hackers I've had on the blog, someone around here turned SEVENTEEN!  I just can't believe our little, tiny 5 lb. 9 oz. baby has been "hanging around" with us for seventeen years!  It just seems like yesterday that John and I brought Katelyn home with us from that fabulous Walter Reed Hospital in Washington DC.  Where has time gone?  Well . . . Happy Birthday to our wonderful, sweet, caring, giving, smart and cute daughter . . . that just happened to turn seventeen! 

Happy Birthday Katelyn!!!

ENJOY!!!

Here's Katelyn in the car with one of her birthday gifts . . . a new subscription to Seventeen magazine. 

(I'll try to add more pictures later - it took FOREVER to add this one, and I couldn't get the site to download the others.)  

 

Pristine Pisa

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Just so you know . . . these are the last of our Italy vacation pictures from August!  I am sure you'll be happy to start to see some more current pictures, but enjoy the sunshine you see and have seen in all of these!  The next pictures don't have any sunshine . . . so sad!  (Oh well, there are wonderful things in them, too, even without the sun!)  We certainly have wonderful memories of Italy, though.

ENJOY!!!

Fabulous Fun in Florence

This slideshow design personalized with Smilebox So . . . on to Florence we went next.  What a fun day we had!  We had

yummy food and fun in the sun that day!  A little shopping was done by all and, Mac even got to swim in the pool at our hotel!  All in all, it was a fabulous Florence day! 

ENJOY!!!

SURPRISED.....ARE YOU???

    Hola,
Mac here, today I'm really bored, and my mom doesn't know I'm on here, so we have to keep on the down low, and make it sort of quick... :(  So, today was sort of sad, because my Oma had to leave and go back home in Houston.  Hopefully she got home safely.  We are planning on going to London for Thanksgiving (Rather rebellious aren't we?)  So expect pictures from that...  School is really wonderful.  The weather here is wonderful... if you like the cold, the rain, or even hail.... but, that's how the cookie crumbles. Well, it looks like our brief talk has come to an end.
     Adios!
-Mac
P.S. Plaese don't tell my mom I was here.... please keep it on the down low, it'll be our little secret...!

HELLO AGAIN

hello again this is katelyn.
I hacked into my mom's blog again
she wanted me to tell you that her
new photos will be up shortly.
Now I am going to update what has happened in the
Cox house hold
since I last wrote. first off we have all gotten older. 
 I am now a junior and am looking forward to going
to college. I turned 17 on October 9th. My dad and Mac just had their 
combined birthdays (Mac is officially a teenager)
Okay I have to go now my moms comming in and I don't want her to know that i am on her blog.
- Katelyn :)

Sorrento Smiles

Next we were off to Sorrento, Italy.  The only word I can say to describe our drive to this seaside city is GORGEOUS!  And I mean really, really breathtakingly gorgeous!  It's a curvey road along the coast and all of it is beautiful!  Our pictures do NOT make it look half as enchanting.  It was certainly worth the trip!!!  I hope our family can remember how beautiful the views were that day - to last a lifetime.  The city of Sorrento is famous for their inlaid wood.  We got to see a demonstration on how it is made - loads of work and artistry . . . we only came away with a small chess set - otherwise, we'd have to sell ourselves to pay for more.  :o)  They are also well known for their cameos.  Beautiful, once again.  We spent quite some time looking for the perfect one . . . but never quite found it - maybe we'll have to go back again!  :o)  Oh, one last note . . . the song on the slideshow is "Come Back to Sorrento" . . .  so there you have it.

ENJOY!!!

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Photographs of Pompeii

One of my favorite places I visited over 20 years ago was Pompeii.  I was so excited to get to go back there with the family.  Mt. Vesuvius erupted many, many years ago - leaving behind a really cool place to visit.  Although this tragic event ended the lives of 20,000 Pompeian residents, the ash that buried the town served as a sort of mummification for the entire city.  The eruption of 79 AD which buried the town in ash actually captured a moment in time.  Under the ash everything remained as it was at the time of the eruption.  Artwork was preserved.  Buildings were preserved. Several important clues were left behind.  These clues give us a little glimpse into the past.  These clues are the silver lining that can be seen when you visit the ruins at Pompeii.  We all enjoyed our visit to the ancient city. 
 
ENJOY!!!

 

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Visions of the Vatican

Make your own slideshow Well, here we are visiting Vatican City.  It is the world’s smallest country and serves as the spiritual center for millions of practicing Roman Catholics worldwide. It is usually referred to as a City State and often called “The Holy See”. Swiss Guards guard the Vatican City which is home to about 800 residents. None of them are permanent. The population of this tiny area, which surrounds St. Peter’s Basilica or church, is made up of priests, nuns, guards, high-ranking dignitaries and, of course, the Pope.   It was definitely worh our visit!    ENJOY!!!

Restless in Rome

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Well, thought I'd show some more of the sights of Rome.  We loved being there!  Everything had so much history - but as you can see . . . I already can't remember it all!!!  There was something significant, I think,  that happened in those 2 pictures, but for the life of me . . . I can't recall.  (Okay, neither can anyone else in the family so???)  Besides all the history and really facinating buildings we saw - we really enjoyed the sun!  Every day was hot . . . some warmer than others, and every single day was sunny!  (I know, I seem to go on and on about that, don't I?)  Anyway . . . we certainly enjoyed Rome!

ENJOY!!!

 

Day of the Animals???

Well, a little break from the Italy trip . . . yesterday was the Day of the Animals.  (???)  I think I heard on the radio that someone, somewhere in Europe - actually - started this day in the 1930s.  I didn't take the time to research it or even really find out what it was all about - but I did take the new puppy . . . well, not so new puppy to get a blessing at the chapel.  (I know this makes all my catholic friends very happy!)  There were lots of friends for Scarlett to meet there!  She really enjoyed herself.  (And unlike her sister, Antenna - she didn't bark at any of them!)  I do believe that's Scarlett's already blessed and we're blessed by her as well; well . . . most of the time, anyway.  Acutally, maybe it should have been an exorcism - since she has already chewed up several, and I mean several pairs of our shoes!!  I know you ask . . . "Why not put them away?" - if you saw the size of our closets - you would NOT ask that question!!!  So . . . 

ENJOY!!!

                Scarlett wonders where all the animals came from - she'd love to play with all of them!!!

This is Father Rodriquez giving Scarlett an official blessing - her friend, Sierra is behind her being held by the girl in the HS spirit day pajamas.  (Sierra is kind of  a "relative" - well, the same breed- to Chuy and Oliver - Antenna's best friends!)

                            Some soldiers brought their work companions.  :o)  A very nice touch.

 Scarlett and her best friend, Ginger - who lives across the street - a husky/lab mix.  In fact, Antenna knew Ginger when Ginger was just a brand new puppy in Pennsylvania. 

Scarlett - don't you wonder what's going on in that tiny, little brain of hers?!

The Colossal Coliseum

So . . . we finally arrived in Rome . . . and our first stop on our Roman Holiday - The Coliseum.  Hard to imagine that it was built oh so many years ago . . . construction began in 70 A.D.  Amazing to have all this history right at our feet . . . cool!  Would have been fun to see all the people - 50,000 cheering for their favorite gladiator.  It was neat to see all the tunnels and the areas where the caged animals were kept.  A very old, yet modern structure. 

ENJOY!!!

 

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An Italian Float

Next we were off to Venice. What a breathtaking city on and in the water! Here we got to take a gondola ride . . . all through the canals. Even the sights on the canals were spectacular. (Maybe it had something to do with the fact that there was sunshine everywhere! Blue skies and warm sun . . . something we've been missing in Germany!!!) Anyway, we also got to see a glass blower make magic. Of course, then shop in the fabulous shop! (We made it out of there with just one necklace.) :o) Next we saw St Mark's Cathedral in the Piazza St. Mark's.  It  is covered with tiny pieces of glass and stone making the most beautiful mosiacs. Also, one thing of note . . . the "Bridge of Sighs". It's under renovation right now, but you can still see it in the picture. It is said that on one side of the bridge was the palace - the other side held the prison in the basement area. When the prisioners were being led to their cells they would cross over the bridge and see Venice for the last time. This caused the prisioners to sigh - thus giving the bridge that interesting name. We finished off the day by eating more yummy Italian food - a little bit of seafood for John and the best ever spaghetti for the rest of us.  Yummy, yummy!

ENJOY!!!

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My Verona . . . Not My Sherona! :o)

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As you can see, we went to ITALY for our summer vacation!!! Our Italian Dream started in Verona, Italy. We saw the Roman Theater . . . which is still being used today. They have operas, plays and other various things happening there. Cool, huh?! After checking the theater out, we headed over to Juliet's house. :o) We saw where Romeo and Juliet professed their love! We even had the opportunity to leave our own love message. The balcony wasn't as big as I had pictured. (Check out the recent movie "Letters to Juliet" to see more of what we saw! I think it's a good movie.) Of course, then we were off to the market square for pizza . . . I mean, you can't spend your first night in Italy without having wonerful, thin and crispy, real Italian pizza.

ENJOY!!!

A "Glitch" in the System

Just so everyone doesn't think we've abandoned the blog again . . . we've had a computer "glitch". I will be back on as soon as possible and have those fabulous summer vacation pictures up - the ones you all have been waiting for!!! Our family laptop has decided to rest forever after all the hard work it's done. We went tonight and picked from a very large assortment (ha!) at our super-sized Best Buy - you know the super fabulous computer and electronic store where you can get anything and everything!!! Not really . . . I only wish! ;o) Well, since we don't have one of those here, we decided to go to the local Aafes and pick out a new model. (Hopefully it is a new model . . . who knows!) Oh well, it will work, and that's the main thing! I just pray that the external hard drive we have set up here has all my pictures and my "favorites" stored in it!!! We'll soon see, I guess . . . Check back in a day or two and see if we've got it up and going!

ENJOY!!!

School or Singing in the Rain???

Is it time for school or is this just a clip from the movie "Singing in the Rain"??? Well . . . I guess you got it correct - it's time for school!!! We started the year off last Monday, August 30 in the wonderful, German rain. Katelyn and Mac still seemed to have smiles on their faces . . . nervously awaiting the beginning of a new adventure. Katelyn started her Junior year - how can that be?! Mac has his 2nd year in Middle School as a 7th grader. They were not too happy about the early morning, but excited to see old friends again! Hope it's a great year!

ENJOY!!!

Marburg

Well, at the end of all the travels with our friends . . . we found ourselves unexpectedly having a free day. (It's not our fault that Julie thought she left one day sooner . . . read the ticket and check the date next time, Julie!) Oh well . . . it worked to our advantage!!! :o) Thanks for being blond, Julie! Anyway . . . we got the travel books and the maps out and decided that we'd go to Marburg - an hour northeast of Wiesbaden. Boy are we glad we did! It is a beautiful university town that has loads of things to do. We will definitely be going back to Marburg!!!

ENJOY!!!

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Double 4 Birthday

Well, it happened . . . I celebrated the big 44 a week or so ago. I started to put the new school pictures on the blog, and I saw these two from my birthday. They are both very special! Kate made and decorated the yummy cake and Mac made the candy sign for me. You can tell how lucky I am to be very blessed by two wonderful kids!

ENJOY!!!

A Cute Laugh

When asked by a young patrol officer, "Do you know why you were speeding?" An 83-year-old woman talked herself out of a ticket by stating, "Yes, Officer . . . I was trying to get there before I forgot where I was going!"

Sounds perfect to me!

ENJOY!!!

Luxembourg

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Next stop was Luxembourg . . . it wasn't too far, so we continued northwest and spent one night there. The history of Luxembourg goes back to the year 963 A.D. when the Count of the Ardennes had a castle built on a rock overlooking the river. Later a French fortress builder turned Luxembourg into one of his masterpieces, known as the "Gilbraltar of the North". At it's height this fortress had 24 forts and was linked underground by a 15 mile network of tunnels. (Isn't it nice to get a history lesson each day - from Lydia, no less! Ha!)

ENJOY!!!

Time for Trier

Well . . . we returned from Berlin and decided to take time for Trier. Trier is Germany's oldest city. It is on the west side near the border with Luxembourg and brags that it was inhabited by Celts for 1,300 years before Rome even existed. (That's your history lesson for today . . . thanks to the travel guru, Rick Steves . . . and his book!) Many of the Roman buildings there were constructed under Constantine before he left for Constantinople. We all thought it was a really cool place to see . . . especially since we hadn't been there before.

If you look closely, you'll see some of us at the base of the Porta Nigra . . . the black gate. This is the most impressive Roman fortification in Germany and was built without mortar - only iron pegs hold it together! This was one of 4 gates huge gates in the town's 4 mile wall. Only this one survived medieval stone and metal scavengers. You'll find out why under the next picture. :o)

They call it the black gate because it obviously looks black . . . darkened by time and grit of life. The Porta Nigra survived because it became a church. St. Simeon - a Greek recluse - lived inside the gate for 7 years. After his death, the St. Simeon monastery was established and the gate was made into a 2 story church. Church on the bottom and monastery on the top. Cool, huh?!

Once inside the gate . . . some of the beautiful sites. The streets are cobblestone and the flowers are gorgeous!!!

Kate, John and Mac peaking around in the market square.

A look down the street to the cathedral.

The kids and John in front of the cathedral. The oldest Christian church in Germany. It is actually quite huge - this picture doesn't really show the size. In A.D. 326 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his reign, Constantine began construction of St. Peter's in Rome and this huge cathedral in Trier - also called St. Peter's. The original Roman cathedral was more than 4 times the size of it now. Quite impressive!

Katelyn and Lydia at the Imperial Baths.

The biggest of Trier's three Roman baths.

John, Kate, and Mac . . . thank goodness they aren't inside the Roman baths - that would make for quite the picture!!!

ENJOY!!!

The Undivided City of BERLIN

First things first . . . above is a picture of the Kaufhaus des Westens . . . or to Berliers KaDeWe - the largest department store on the Continent! (This was our first stop . . . and YES I did purchase a few things inside - mostly candy and dishes!) :o) Yea!

I believe that this picture speaks for itself.
Checkpoint Charlie - and remember it wasn't named for a person - but because it was checkpoint number 3 like alpha, bravo, CHARLIE.

Another one that doesn't need explaining.

The interesting thing about this one - besides the fact that you can pay the "actors" to take a picture with them . . . is the McDonald's nearby! Making money at it's best! Certainly was alive and well in Berlin!

Katelyn and Mac in front of a piece of the old Berlin Wall.

Mac and Katelyn by the Brandenburg Gate. A former border for the East and the West.

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The church's bombed-out ruins were left standing as a memorial to the destruction of Berlin in World War II. After the war, some Berliners wanted to tear down the church and rebuild. Instead it was decided to keep the ruin as a memorial and build another church section close by.

Another picture of the church with the tourists - Kate and Mac!


When our friends decided to come back to Germany and see things maybe they hadn't seen when we were all teaching here together last time, they knew we might see some of the same places. Berlin was one of those places. 20 years ago, after John had returned from his deployment, Tom, Eileen, John and I went to Berlin to see Tom's favorite football team - the 49ers - play in an exhibition game against the Chicago Bears. One of the things that John and I always talk about was that the hotel we stayed in was a former East Berlin hotel with matresses that were about one inch thick . . . plus they were in a room that was so narrow, the two beds were head to toe, head to toe - instead of side by side. Now, the hotel we stayed in was on the former West side, and was much larger by European standards. Anyhoo . . . John wasn't able to go this trip, but it was important for the kids to see all the sites of Berlin. We spent 3 days and 2 nights seeing all we could. Of course, one day it rained, but we're used to that . . . it always seems to rain here! So, we didn't let that stop us!

ENJOY!!!