Olympic fever sweeps China; good news for SARS victims

Oh, China. Thanks. What good hosts you have been. Detained reporters report all is well. Turns out that all you have to do to cover up mass poverty, disastrous environmental policy and human rights abuse is host a massive two week sporting spectacle. You hear that Russia? 2014 will be here before you know it-make nice with China and maybe they'll meet you in Sochi to see if they can put together something real respectable like.  

I still love the olympic chicken soup for the soul stories. Like the one about David Oliver. Here is a man who overcame so many hurdles to win. 

Literally. 

Like ten of them. 

He won a bronze in the hurdles.

But, come on! I bet you can think of some metaphor to  throw in. Try some emotional hurdle or his socks were always too tight. I heard that at his first competition he lost because they replaced him with a more aesthetically pleasing competitor. Now those are some insurmountable odds! 

And this was the end of this post but since I mentioned sports, I am contractually obligated to mention Brett Favre.

Elmo Fanatic

Naturally, when you wear Elmo pajamas you have to have on the elmo backpack. She has not taken it off since putting in on. 3 hours and counting.

Just Because

We were getting ready for the beach and I thought she looked so cute and so prepared.  Although, you should see her when she's trying to pack everything around. The bags can get pretty big, and the outfits a little crazy. What can we say, she is our little bag lady!

Castle Feke and Kizkilesi (Castle by the Sea)

This is Feke Castle, which we discovered is very cool and the Turks don't even know where it is. When we asked if they heard of it, all of the responses were, "Where?" It was especially nice because there wasn't litter and spray paint all over the place. 

This is Rick standing on one of many levels. Most was filled with dirt. Compared to most of the castles around here, this one is very well preserved and who knows what artifacts lay hidden beneath all that dirt. Oh, and remember preservation in Turkey is not a priority at all! At least that is what it looks like.
These are just some more rooms.
Kizkilesi, or Castle by the Sea.  Welcome to the whitest people in the Mediterranean Sea. Also the ones with the most defined farmer tans. But, we did have the cutest baby there.

I'm not sure why they call this castle by the sea when it is clearly in the sea. Unless they were talking about all of the fallen walls around the beaches. It was very pretty.
PJ loved the water and the waves. She thought it was loads of fun as each wave hit, pulling her back a bit. She did not like the taste of salt water. Hmm, imagine that.

HOME

For those who don't know this is where we call home.  This is around the 4th of July and notice there is still snow in the mountains. It is so beautiful there and not a million degrees. And, I enjoy ALL the snowy months. Well, maybe just until March/April time and then it is time to warm up a little.

I will work on more pictures in the future. I gave up on trying to find our cord that connects to the charger and just bought new batteries so I can post.

Scary Little Monster!!

Okay, so she's not scary at all. It was hilarious watching her play with these Hulk hands. She was dancing and pumping her fists in the air. Then she would bang them together and they would make a noise.  She loved Christopher's (Udy) toys, and knew right where to go.