Trip Post 1--Grand Canyon!

"The one great sight...every American should see."--Theodore Roosevelt

My trip out West was awesome! I went with my parents and my kids. We survived the thousands of miles of car travel, fast food and motels. My Grandmother was turning 90 and she lives in Washington. So, on the way to Washington for her 90th Birthday party we stopped off at some sites.

We went to the Grand Canyon, Sequoia National Park, Yosemite, Redwoods National Park and Mt. Rushmore. I decided to do a post on each site so I could post pictures on each one.

I had never been to the Grand Canyon so, I was pretty excited about seeing it. We were fortunate that we had good weather at every park we went to. It was a little chilly at the Grand Canyon, but the skies were clear.

I was amazed and somewhat concerned about how close to the edge you were able to get at certain places. I was especially nervous having all of my kids with me. My youngest made a big deal when he turned 9 that he was too old for me to hold his hand anymore. Not only did he make an exception at the Grand Canyon, but he told me that if "I wasn't holding his hand, he might faint." It was very cute!

Since, I homeschool this trip automatically gets turned into an educational field trip ;-). My 15 year old daughter lamented about this. Yet, I enjoyed learning along with my youngest from all the different books we read on the different parks. Below are just a few things that I learned.

Basic Grand Canyon facts:

--Became a national park in 1919
--Its located in Northwestern Arizona
--It is 277 miles long
--5 million people visit the park each year
--90% of those people see the canyon from the South Rim
--It takes 5 hours by car to get to the North Rim, so fewer people see it from there
--You can hike or take a mule train to get to the bottom of the canyon
--The Colorado River flows through it (some take rafting trips down it)
--Major John Powell lead an expedition through the Canyon in 1869

Plants & animals that we saw:

--Yucca plant
--Ravens

Resources:
--Grand Canyon for kids!
--Welcome to Grand Canyon National Park
--Exploring Canyons
--Grand Canyon National Park
--Grand Canyon National Park

Headed Out West!

My Grandmother is turning 90, so I, along with some family are headed out West to see her and some sites along the way! I'm hoping to blog and post pictures from some of the sites, if I can get internet access.

Mourning the Loss of Patrick Swayze!!

When Patrick Swayze was originally diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January of 2008, I offered up prayers for him and did a post asking others to pray and sign a public get well card for him. Swayze fought the deadly cancer and continued acting and living life, but unfortunately, lost his battle with cancer yesterday at the age of 57.

Dr. Jeffrey Hardacre told Fox News that Swayze defied the odds because most people that are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer only live 3-6 months, and Swayze lived for over a year and a half.

I think many viewed Swayze as one of the "good guys" in Hollywood. I know I did. Any woman that was a teen in the 80's fell in love with him in the movie Dirty Dancing. My other favorites were:

--The Outsiders
--Point Break
--Roadhouse

Patrick Swayze - Chippendale
by tressage

Also, no one will ever forget his hilarious SNL skit with Chris Farley. Its hard to believe that they are both gone now.

May God comfort his family and friends during this difficult time. My prayers and thoughts are with them. He will be greatly missed!

Related links:
--The Life of Patrick Swayze

Remembering 9/11!!

Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.

America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.

Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature, and we responded with the best of America, with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.--President George W. Bush on September 11, 2001

I will forever be grateful that President George W. Bush was at the helm on that fateful day and not someone else. God Bless him, he is greatly missed!!

Previously:
2008--September 11th--May We Never Forget!!
2007--September 11th--My Generation's Pearl Harbor
2006--9/11 Tribute To Christina De Laura
2005--Remembering September 11th

History Sites!

Video Hat tip: BZ

Bloviating Zeppelin did a neat post on where he would like to visit in the U.S. and asked where others would like to visit as well. I'm a HUGE history buff and I especially love American History.

I'm hoping to do a lot of traveling to historic sites over the years. As I've mentioned before, I love studying the U.S. presidents and hope to visit all the presidential museums. As long as I can convince myself to step foot into Carter's ;-).

As BZ asked, Where would you like to go? I'd love to hear what sites everyone would like to visit, please leave them in the comments section. Maybe some of you will have places I haven't even thought of.

Previously:
--Greenfield Village & The Henry Ford Museum
--Gerald Ford Presidential Museum
--I am Back!

MommyWood and Tori and Dean!

I have to confess that I was once a fan of Beverly Hills 90210. Yet, I wasn't necessarily a huge fan of Tori Spelling, but that changed when I read her book, Stori Telling. I was really impressed with how real, honest and genuine she was and I came away really liking her.

After that, I confess that I started watching her reality show, Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood. Again, I was impressed with Tori's genuine desire to be a good Mom and her relationship with her husband. She has some Hollywood morals that I don't agree with, but I love people who are real and Tori is exactly that.

Her second book, Mommywood didn't reveal anything earth shattering but it was also good. Even as a Mom of 4 who has to do all the work myself with only my husband's help, I respected where Tori was coming from as a Mother.

I didn't agree with Entertainment Weekly's review at all when they described Tori and her Mom's books as "cheesy exhibitionism of the double Spelling literary acts".

Previously:
Tori Spelling on Hannity!
A Review of Stori Telling

A Review of "Taking Chance"

The movie, "Taking Chance" is a must see!! It is an HBO film based on a moving true story. To be honest, whenever I hear that a movie is done by HBO, I'm pretty skeptical. The reason being that HBO is pretty good at putting out liberal propaganda pieces. That said, this is not the first time I've been pleasantly surprised. The first time was when I was wowed by Iron Jawed Angels.

Lieutenant Colonel Michael R. Strobl made a journey in 2004 that was so moving, he decided to write an article about it. Even though it was unusual for someone of Strobl's rank to escort a fallen soldier's body home, Strobl volunteered to do just that. He didn't even know Pfc. Chance Phelps, but he noticed that he was from a hometown right next to Strobl's own hometown.

Since, Strobl himself helped write the screenplay for the movie it ended up being very accurate. The neat thing about the movie also is that everyone can watch it and be moved whether they are for or against the war. There is nothing political about it.

Below are some excerpts from Strobl's article that show what big hearts Americans have in this country for our men and women who are putting their lives on the line for our freedoms:

On this day there were some civilians doing construction on the mortuary grounds. As each hearse passed, they would stop working and place their hard hats over their hearts. This was my first sign that my mission with Pfc. Phelps was larger than the Marine Corps and that his family and friends were not grieving alone.
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The woman behind the counter already had tears in her eyes as I was pulling out my government travel voucher. She struggled to find words but managed to express her sympathy for the family and thank me for my service. She upgraded my ticket to first class.

After clearing security, I was met by another Northwest Airlines employee at the gate. She told me a representative from cargo would take me to the tarmac to observe the movement and loading of Pfc. Phelps. I hadn't really told any of them what my mission was, but they all knew.

When the man from the cargo crew met me, he, too, struggled for words. On the tarmac, he told me stories of his childhood as a military brat and repeatedly told me that he was sorry for my loss. I was starting to understand that, even here in Philadelphia, far away from Chance's hometown, people were mourning with his family.

On the tarmac, the cargo crew was silent expect for occasional instructions to each other. I stood to the side and saluted as the conveyor moved the container to the aircraft. I was relieved when he was finally settled into place. The rest of the bags were loaded, and I watched them shut the cargo bay door before I headed back to board the aircraft.

One of the pilots had taken my carry-on bag himself and stored it next to the cockpit door so he could watch it while I was on the tarmac. As I boarded the plane, I could tell immediately that the flight attendants had already been informed of my mission. They seemed a little choked up as they led me to my seat.

About 45 minutes into our flight, I still hadn't spoken to anyone expect to tell the first-class flight attendant that I would prefer water. I was surprised when the flight attendant from the back of the plane suddenly appeared and leaned down to grab my hands. She said, "I want you to have this, " as she pushed a small gold crucifix, with a relief of Jesus, into my hand. It was her lapel pin, and it looked somewhat worn. I suspected it had been hers for quite some time. That was the only thing she said to me the entire flight.

Bottom line: I give the movie 2 thumbs up and recommend it for all to see. I only caution you to have a box of kleenex close by.

Additional links:
A Marine's Journey Home
Taking Chance
HBO Films’ Taking Chance - Kevin Bacon, Michael Strobl Interview

Nick Vujicic!

A friend posted this on Facebook. This man's life is a testament to us all and an inspiration! If you've fallen down and feel like you can't get up, take courage! Never give up!! It makes me think of all the people that succeeded only because they didn't quit! May we take heart and be encouraged!

A Review of "Valkyrie"

While on vacation my parents and I watched Valkyrie with Tom Cruise. I have to say that it exceeded my expectations and is probably the best character role I've ever seen Cruise play.

Cruise plays Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who was one of the key players in what was known as the July plot (Operation Valkyrie) to assassinate Hitler. What was fascinating is that it was more than just an assassination attempt, it was a plan to take over the whole German government. I was wondering how accurate the movie was to history and found this:

Peter Hoffmann, professor of history at McGill University and a leading authority on the German Resistance, was a consultant for the filmmakers. Hoffmann spoke of the film's accuracy, "[Valkyrie] gives a fundamentally accurate portrait of Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators. There are details which must be counted as liberties. But, fundamentally, the film is decent, respectful and represents the spirit of the conspiracy."

My Mom and I were amazed that we had never heard more about the July plot or how widespread the German resistance was. There were a total of 15 assassination attempts on Hitler's life by the time the war ended.

Even though I knew how the movie would end and that the plot would fail, I still found it all to be very inspirational. These men and women put their lives on the line for a cause they believed in, they stood up against evil when they knew it could cost them their lives, and it did. Thats what I call courage. I marveled at the thought of how differently Germany would be viewed to this day if they could've taken back their own country from a mad man.

Gilmore Girls!

Several friends and I are watching the show Gilmore Girls on DVD right now. It is an amazing show. I have several great quotes that I will add to this post later when I get a chance.