Showcase...

Off to Michigan to visit the rest of our family.  In one week we got to see all of our children and grandmonsters.  How blessed it that?  

We left on a Tuesday after closing the Family History Center early. We were packed and ready before going to Lexington.  However, leaving from Lexington added an additional 30 minutes to our drive.  We still made great time even if there were a ton of crazies on the road. Everyone was changing lanes a lot and I do believe my dear hubby felt like he might be getting into Egypt traffic. Not quite as bad but concerning anyway.

We met Jake at his apartment in Chelsea.  I went to the door and knocked to tell him we were there. For some silly reason, when he opened the door I jumped as it scared me a bit. Why, I do not know. We both got a chuckle out of it.

Jake in the front seat and me in the back, Claude drove us to Ann Arbor where Jake treated us to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack.  Yummy!!!  Then we went back to Jake's apartment and collected the Christmas presents we sent home with him in December and he and Nissa never were able to meet to make the transfer of gifts.  Then Jake went to our hotel room with us where we viewed the Egypt pictures and talked till it was time to take him home and us go to bed.

Our plan had been to sleep in Wednesday morning because we thought all the Muskegon branch of the family would be at work and school during the day.  Nissa sent us a text Tuesday saying Todd switched days off for her so she could be with us and shuttle Aubrey around in preparation for all her singing practices.  So we got up and hit the road early so we could enjoy some time with Nissa.

We met her at her home and took her to lunch. What fun to have one-on-one time with our daughter.  Then we visited Todd at the work where we purchased new wiper blades for my car and a battery for Claude's key fob.  Thank you Todd!!

Nissa had to pick up Aubrey at practice for Festival at Muskegon High School. She would be singing for it. Claude and I headed to the hotel for a shower an a little rest before the kids got home and we were to return to the Tyler home.

This was the first night of Aubrey's performance a Showcase.

This is an annual event held at the Fruenthal Theater in Muskegon. First, this theater is beautiful. It is the classic old style theater and was actually built in 1928. Very ornate and well maintained.  It is also the home of the Singing Christmas Tree event every December in Muskegon.

Showcase is a competition between the schools in Western Michigan.  Each school is allowed to pick two acts to perform.  Aubrey was one of the acts chosen from Muskegon High School. She would sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".  There are lots of other pieces of Showcase, like the arts portion, the literary portion, the athletic portion, etc.  Each of these types of entries compete for cash prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in their respective categories.

Claude and I were blown away by Aubrey's performance.  She was next to last on the program.  Her voice was pure and full and she even had a cold.  Her presentation was exactly right for the words she was singing. She just nailed it.  She did not win but she nailed it. She was simply beautiful. So proud of this young lady.

After her performance we got a few family pictures in the lobby with our happy girl. First Nissa and Todd with Aubrey, next Sandi and Claude with Aubrey and last the sisters, Katelyn and Aubrey.

Saturday we got to sleep in a bit.  Then we met Katelyn and her squeeze, Drew for lunch. This was our first time to meet Drew. Claude noted he held the door for Katelyn and other things he did. This let Drew know we were watching but we were happy with him and to get to meet him.

We had some rest time until the kids got home from school and Katelyn got home from her test at college.  We had Paul and Aubrey do their chores and then we scooped up these grandmonsters for a run to Big Apple Bagels for a smoothie treat.  Then we drove around to find the best birthday cake.  Nissa, Paul and Aubrey have birthdays in March, Todd has his birthday in April. The plan was to have a family dinner and birthday celebration for everyone while we were in Muskegon.

Nissa and Todd managed to get home early thanks to a co-worker who agreed to cover closing the store. So we headed to The Pita Place for family dinner.  Such good food and a nice round table all of us could sit at to visit while we ate.

Then back to the Tyler home for present opening, family time and watching of the Egypt pictures.

The picture I missed in all this was Nissa opening her present.  

It was great fun and we prepared to head to our hotel and let this family get some rest before school and work the next day...then we remembered...we had purchased a birthday cake.  So we paused to have a very sugary cake before we all would retire to our respective beds to the night. I did not sleep well at all.  I wonder why???

It was such a good visit. Loved seeing all our Michigan family. Grateful for this opportunity and the ability to make this fun trip. 

Mini's in Motion...

Friday, March 14th, found Claude and I headed to LaGrange. Claude had a meeting in Louisville. He would drop me off at Buckner Elementary so I could watch Bailey's school assembly. Then he would go to his meeting.

Bailey is in 1st Grade and all the 1st Grade classes performed for the school in an assembly. They did Aesop's Fables.  The kids would take turns holding up the folder with the name of the fable on it, then a child would tell the story, then the 1st graders would sing a song that fit with that story, then a child would tell the moral of that particular fable. When the kids sang a song, there were always lots of hand motions to fit the words. The performance lasted about 25 minutes. I held my video camera up that entire 25 minutes. It got a little wobbly at times but I got it all on video. When they were done, the music teacher had them perform with the entire school the Buckner Bear theme song "Bear Essentials".  It was a delightful performance. Bailey is in the center of each of these pictures in a pink/purple long sleeved t-shirt.

 

Hayden was getting ready for the Wax Museum thing they do in school nowadays. The character he chose was Leonardo DaVinci, or as Andie calls him, Haydenardo DaVinci. This is him in costume.  I did get a video of him practicing his performance in costume for us. Michael sent me one of him actually doing it in school. He had it all memorized. Hayden did great.  Lots of arm flourishes and a bit of an Italian accent.

The family was given their treasures from our trip to Egypt.  Bailey had the most fun with the scarf we bought to go with my outfit. I just knew with all those dangling coin-like objects she would love that scarf. She wore it both days we were with them. At one point she was doing Egyptian poses without any music. She would move that long little neck of hers back and forth and side to side. It was hysterical.  Claude started singing Steve Martin's "King Tut".  Bailey quickly found that rhythm and moved in time, then eventually started singing the words 'King Tut' over and over.  Cute moment.

Friday evening we took the Mini's to Dairy Queen for dinner while Michael and Andie enjoyed a real date. We were a few days before Andie's birthday but it still gave them a night out and about.

Saturday morning Hayden woke me up at 6:30am to go to the basement with him. He has his own video game set up that he saved and bought with his money down there.  He loves to take us down to play it with him. So he and I had some quiet time before anyone else awoke.  I took my crocheting and he showed me YouTube videos of the tricks to playing his new Mario Brothers game. He is quite good at these games.  His mind just works that way.  I am so slow but he tries to be patient when we play.

Bailey joined us about 7:30am. So we captured the moment in a 'selfie'.

Hayden found a movie that we all agreed would be fun to watch and we snuggled under blankets and watched a movie with Bailey under my left arm and Hayden under my right arm. That is just were any Gramma loves to be. Snuggling with her grandmonsters.

Eventually Michael, then Andie and, much later, Claude joined us.  Andie decided it was a good morning to make banana-chocolate chip mini cupcakes. This would be a great snack for the kids plus she would have a jump on the lunch packing for the next week.

Claude is the perfect Grampa for climbing and snuggling on.

Bailey and I also headed upstairs to the guest bedroom where she entertained me and I videoed to prove it. She sang along with the theme to Frozen and Tangled while standing in the middle of the bed. Pink head phones in place and drama you cannot fathom. With two front teeth missing this video is one of the keepers for when she dates and intends to marry.

Bailey showed me how she practices her eye therapy and I also got that on video.

We fit hair cuts for Bailey and Andie into our morning. Before it was time to go to Hayden's Blue and Gold event for Cub Scouts.

Hayden would advance from Bear to Webelo Cub Scout. He was very happy we were able to go to this with his family. 

 

We left from the school to return home.  It was so good to see these precious grandmonsters again and watch the fun things they are learning and doing in their lives. Kudo's Andie and Michael for getting the parenting job right!!

Family History Remembrances...

When I took Papa to Bardstown, there were a couple of things I learned about my family history.

First bit of knowledge was this broad axe.

Papa has always talked to me about Grampa Duck (Carl Edward Lawrence), his father, having excellent skills with a broad axe.  The axe on the right is a broad axe like Grampa Duck would have used.  Papa tells me that Grampa was good enough with this axe and a tree that he could make a smooth board to use in building a house or table, etc. with just the axe.

The second bit of knowledge was this sign.

One of the homes we went in had a hallway running right through the middle.  This is the way Mimi's parents (Clarence Clifford Fisch and Laura Cordelia Clark Fisch) home was down in Starks, Louisiana.  

Their home had two bedrooms on the left side of the hallway, one on the front of the house and one on the back of the house. There was a doorway between these rooms and a doorway from each room that opened into the center hallway.  

The right side of their home had one long room that went from the front to the back of the house. It had one doorway that opened into the center hallway.  This long room had a pot-bellied stove for heat located in the center of the right wall. The front of this room had their sofa and chair and was used like a living room. The back part of the room had their bed and was their bedroom. 

To the right of this long room an add on had been built that was the kitchen and eating area with a big porch at the back of the house. There was a window from their bedroom that looked out on the porch. 

Along the front of their home was another covered front porch with a swing and several Adirondack chairs and an Adirondack love seat. There was also a wooden rocking chair. Loved that front porch.  Shelling peas, watching rain, reading a book, it was just the best for any of these and other activities.

The front porch ended with a little room on the right with a door to the porch and then a door to the kitchen on the other side. It was a pantry and was always full of bottled foods.

I don't think I ever heard of the home being called a 'Dogtrot' house.  But, evidently that is what it was.

I loved this home. Still dream about being there. I've blogged about it before, years ago. That hallway had big wooded double doors that would close at each end. As a little child, we were required to lay on a pallet (blanket) on the floor and try to take a nap.  I can still feel that gentle Southern breeze gently brush my face. Yes, I loved this home and hold many happy childhood memories from there.

A Primary Moment...

Sunday, March 9th, I had a lovely experience at Church.  During March our Primary children are learning the hymn "I Stand All Amazed" for their program in September.  That particular Sunday, Amber Marcum, our chorister, chose to teach the children using a story time practice. It was so successful that on the 18th when we practiced again, the children asked if they could have a story time practice again.

The top picture is Junior Primary. The bottom picture is Senior Primary.

This is my Facebook post about this moment:

Primary has the best music people. Today Amber Marcum had the children sit like story time as they learned the verses to "I Stand All Amazed". The children sang like angels. Such a blessing to be with them today and feel such a tender sweet Spirit in our Primary. Thank you Amber and Brian. Thank you children for such a meaningful Sabbath.

This is the payback for all the time spent in preparing and serving in Primary. Love these moments.

A Trip Down the Nile...Cairo

Sunday morning, February 23rd, we awoke very early and boarded our bus to go to the Aswan airport. Box breakfasts were in our seats on the bus so we could get on our way more quickly.

Arriving in Cairo we boarded another bus and were taken to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, also known as the Egyptian Museum or the Museum of Cairo.  First, for a bit more of the feel of being in Cairo, two more pictures of buildings in Cairo. And one picture of the street signs written in Arabic and English.

We arrived at the Egyptian Museum and drove by the plaza on which the revolt took place. Here are two pictures of the plaza.

When we saw the burning buildings on the news in February 2011, it was actually only one large office building. 

There are 3 Sabbaths in Egypt as there were in Israel.  Friday for the Muslims, Saturday for the Jews and Sunday for the Christians.  On these days the people are more likely to come to the plaza and exchange ideas, become stirred up and then trouble can erupt. So on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the army brings in armored tanks and stations them in front of the museum between the museum and the plaza. Lots of men in uniform with big machine guns standing in the turret of the tank and around it. We really had nothing to fear but it is still very imposing. We were also not allowed to even take our camera inside the museum. All belongings were left on our bus. I tried to get a picture of the museum from the bus window but it is not great, so I provide this one generously displayed on the Internet.

Osman knows this museum well as he worked here. He took us through the mummy room and then through the Tutankhamen museum and then through the papyrus room. If you want to really understand the artifacts from King Tut's tomb, go with Osman. The thing that amazes Osman is when the King Tut artifacts came to tour America, there were lines where people stood for hours to see these amazing items. In Cairo, they are just there and no long lines. We had no problem seeing all of them and not being crowed by other tourists or locals.

After the Egyptian Museum we made the connection with our bus driver who had to drive around because he couldn't park near the museum. He couldn't only stay in one spot to let us off or on for a specific number of minutes by the museum.

Our driver would then take us from Cairo on one side of the Nile River to Giza on the other side of the Nile River to visit the pyramids.  I had been very sad for the lack of cleanliness in most of the streets of Cairo. We were told Giza was a LOT worse. We were told correctly.  The sad part is there is really no government since the revolt.  People who work in public service jobs are often not paid so trash is left laying. The tops of their unfinished homes often serve as the place for trash as well as their streets, parking areas and sidewalks. But even sadder than that is the fact that no one applies for a permit or meets any building regulations. Hence, the city of Giza is now a glut of partially finished apartment buildings in every available space and they are built right up to the base of the pyramid complex. 

The pyramid complex is very well laid out. There is a nice road our bus took through and around the base of the pyramids to a hill above them.  This allowed for a great first view close up without walking great distances and then a wonderful photo op view from the hill top overlook.

Here are some candid shots from the overlook that I really like.

 

 

There are actually 12 pyramids at this site in Giza. We all know about the three pyramids built for the pharaohs. Each pharaoh was allowed three wives (they could also have a harem but they were not really wives), so each of these pharaohs has three smaller pyramids by them for each of their three wives. 

The Great Pyramid and the largest one is for Pharaoh Khufu. It is also know by the name Cheops.  The pyramids were built during the Old Kingdom period and were there before Abraham went to Egypt.

The Pyramid for Pharaoh Khafre is the middle pyramid and actually smaller than Khufu's pyramid. It looks larger because it sits higher on the hill. Khafre was Khufu's son. This pyramid retains the largest amount of the outer covering at the top. This covering would have been on each of the pyramids . 

The smallest of the three is for Pharaoh Menkaure.  He was the great grand son-in-law of Khufu.

It was close to closing time. We all wanted to see the Sphinx at the bottom of the hill. We were offered the opportunity to go touch one of the pyramids. But those who got off the bus to do this would have to do it quickly and then hurry down the hill to the Sphinx.  Claude and I opted to touch the pyramid.  Our bus pulled up near Khafre's pyramid. We hurried down to experience the pyramid up close.

We did not go inside any of the pyramids. Alan shared with us that there are no hieroglyphics inside the pyramids.  There are narrow long passages that don't get much ventilation and he explained the smell is like a boy scout's socks after a week at camp times a lot. In truth, we had so much enjoyed the hieroglyphs in the other temples that none of us were disappointed in not entering a pyramid.

As we ran at times to get down the hill to meet our bus and tour group, Alan was trying to point out the sun going down behind the pyramid.  That pyramid shape is another reminder of the connection between the sun and the earth.  So all the time I am running, I tried to turn and catch the perfect shot of the Pyramid of Khafre with the sun shining from the top.  This is the best I was able to get. It was still moving to me.

We got to the Sphinx and the poor gate keeper was yelling, "We are closed. We are closed." while trying to close the door. This was nearly futile on his part as we all pressed to get inside. We made it inside for a quick view of the Sphinx.

There is a funerary complex built around the Sphinx that is being excavated and restored now. This would probably have been the funerary temple for Pharaoh Khafre and the head on the Sphinx is believed to be his image.  There was a road leading from the funerary temple to Khafre's pyramid.

I took one last shot of the head of the Sphinx with a bird on the top. When we moved to Maryland, Claude got there several months before the kids and I got there.  He took pictures of Farragut Park across from the White House.  There is a statue of Farragut in this park and there was always a bird sitting on his head.  If found it amusing there was also a bird resting on the Sphinx's head.

One more stop in this very full day.  We were taken to Abu Simbel Papyrus.  The only souvenir I wanted from this trip was real papyrus with something painted on it.  We were told to wait until Cairo to purchase papyrus. This business was the reason we waited.  Real papyrus made the ancient way and painted with hieroglyphics. Yes!!

We were greeted by Fatima. She was an absolutely beautiful young woman. She would share with us how papyrus was made before we would be allowed to roam this store and make purchases if we desired.

Fatima is holding a stalk of the papyrus plant. She showed us that the stem is actually triangular in shape. The process is begun by cutting the outer green layer from the stem. This layer is extremely strong and is used to weave baskets and in ancient times bed frames  that served the same purpose as the springs under our mattresses. The white part of the stem remaining is then cut into thin strips the size of the length of paper you want to make. Each strip is pounded with a mallet to begin flatting it out. Then it is rolled with a rolling pin to further flatten it out.  These flattened strips are placed in a sink of water overnight. The longer the strip is left in the water the darker it becomes. If you wanted a darker paper, you would leave the strips in till it attained the degree of darkness you desired. The next day you would remove the strips one at a time and place them on a material with one strip going top to bottom, the next strip would lay over the top corner of the first strip and go side to side. Then you would take the third strip and place it top to bottom with a slight overlap of the first top to bottom strip followed by the fourth strip placed side to side overlapping at the top with the first side to side strip.  Once all your strips were in place so you had a complete sheet of paper, material was placed over the top of the future papyrus paper and all was placed in a press and left until dried.  When it was removed, you had a beautiful sheet of papyrus paper.  This paper can be cut in a straight line very easily.  It is very strong and does not tear easily. And, as an added bonus, you can submerge it is water and then squeeze it out and it will dry flat again.

We were shown several examples of papyrus with paintings on them. They were framed and all around the gallery.  This picture is Alan explaining his favorite hieroglyph on papyrus.  These were signed by the artist who painted them.  Claude and I purchased two. 

The first one is actually larger and will be framed and placed in our family room. It is a hieroglyph of a man and woman exchanging lotus blossoms.  I can't remember the numbers but the man gives the woman a certain number of lotus blossoms indicating his interest in her and his desire for her to be his wife. If she accepts them all, she is saying yes. If she only takes a certain smaller number than he is giving it her polite way of saying, "I really like you but do not want to be your wife."

This one is really smaller and will go in Claude's office.

Dark was fast approaching as we headed to our hotel.  The pyramid was visible from the entry to the hotel.  It was a beautiful hotel with cabana style rooms in a huge courtyard with paths around the little buildings.  We were off to ourselves as our group appeared to be the only group in the hotel.  It was like each couple got their own building. 

We enjoyed our last meal together.  Instructions were given for leaving for the airport the next day and dealing with customs at our various destinations.

When we got into our room, I noticed this interesting item under the glass top of the desk in our room. It is something we don't see everyday and would be very helpful if you were a faithful Muslim and participated in the five prayers done each day. I liked that courtesy for the guests.

Claude and I had the latest flight leaving at 10am Monday. Most of our tour had to leave for the airport at 3am. Claude and I were able to sleep until 6am and then be ready to depart by 7am. We were provided a driver and a guide to help us get through security. Then we were on our own for customs and finding the plane.  

Our flights went without a hitch. We got through customs the fastest ever. Chicago now has a kiosk where you scan your passport and it takes a picture of you and you enter what you are declaring on the terminal. When you get to the customs agent they just ask you their questions and get you through rather quickly.  Alan told all the others in our tour group who still were at various stages of their upper respiratory infections, to make sure they did not cough while going through customs or they would be pulled aside and given a thorough exam.  I was not concerned about that for Claude and me. However, as we got to the very last phase of customs my cell phone rang.  My ringtone is Hayden singing "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head".  I was grinning about it but the customs agent did not find it amusing even when I explained it was by adorable grandson. I understand his concern but it is still one of the best ringtones around and it was so good to hear Hayden sing. I left customs grinning.

Claude and I would recommend a trip to Egypt for anyone. We would however caution that you go on a tour with someone who really knows the country and all the ins and outs of security. 

I shared my plethora of pictures with Papa Saturday.  His reaction, "You have a treasure here!"  He was so happy to see the pictures and very much enjoyed his tour of Egypt from his chair.