A New Day

The caterpillar has emerged from its cocoon.....it has taken me two years to work through some "stuff", but I find my life alive and renewed. I am back and myself again.

Fort Worth Botanic Garden

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Trip to Pennsylvania

May 18 through 22 was spent in Pennsylvania. Liz and I stayed at a B&B (upper left photo) in Swarthmore, PA. Although this was mostly a genealogy trip, we did relax and have fun. Genealogy places we visited were Phildelphia, West Chester, Norristown and the small town of North East, MD (upper Right). And one day we visited beautiful Longwood Gardens. On the trip back to Richmond, PA I stopped at the Birthplace of George Washington.(Two photos below).
Washington's Birthplace and Monument
Longwood Gardens

Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens
Longwood

New Family Member

New Family Member: Phillip Victor Balmenti
Born Friday, May 22, 3:32 am
7lb 4 oz 19.9 inches

APRIL 2009

Brie and I went to visit Tuckahoe Plantation in he outskits of Richmond. Thomas Jefferson went to school here for 7 years.
Me at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. Chay's class went and I was one of the drivers.

Dylan on his birthday date with Gma. We painted a bowl at a ceramic place. They glazed and fired it. Isn't he a cutie?

Took a solo trip on April 18 to: (L to R) Monticello (again), Ashlawn - Highland, the home of James Monroe from 1799 to 1823 and Montpelier, the home of James Madison. They are still in the midst of the restoration of Montpelier. Very intresting. Check it out online.

Easter Sunday-Kylee, Brenden, Dylan and Chay

Genealogy moment-I found this address in Philadelphia which is where ancestors used to live in approx. 1850. 1223 Howard which is the second door from the right.
Took a break from genealogy to visit the liberty bell and Independence Hall....again.

TRIP TO UTAH AND VIRGINIA

Trip to Utah and Virginia
Two days after my last day of work I hit the road. First I drove to Utah and then on to Virginia.
I love the mountains of Utah. They always make me feel so secure and peaceful. I was looking forward to seeing Hannah as she was by now about a month old and to see Lily who was closing in on two. What a delight children are...easy to say now that mine are all grown up! I was looking forward to see Lorna and Jonny too.


Lily and I at the Park. Small things are such a joy to children.. I remember loving to swing when I was little. I probably still do. Lily was saying "wheeeeeee" every time I gave her a big push.

The Terrys - Blessing Day for Hannah. March 8. Even though it was a Sunday, Hannah was blessed at home to accommodate everyone's schedules. What a sweet family.

Grandma (aka Mimi) and Hannah
Grandma loves the sweet babies who are staight from heaven. Isn't her dress so cute that I made for her? I think she is drowning in it, but she looks so sweet doesn't she with her headband and pearl bracelet. A little angel from heaven.
Brie and Lily:On March 10, Brie flew in to visit and drive to Virginia with me. ( And this 3 weeks after her husband had fractured a vertibrae in a snowboarding accident) What a woman...and what a great husband for being understanding and Liz for staying with the four kids.

View of the road - This is pretty much what we saw all day, Thursday, March 12 driving across Wyoming and Nebraska. Boring....but it makes for great for driving.
A serendipity moment - In Nebraska, we saw a sign for the first Pony Express station so because we were very bored, we got off the freeway. This building had been moved to this location, but was supposedly the first Pony Express station. Interesting that at this site they also had an information plaquard on the Mormon Trail which went quite near this location. The only other highlight of the day was when we stopped at a giant Cabela's store. Brie had never been to Cabela's.

Crossing the Mississippi The first night we stayed in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The next day we crossed the Mississippi at Fort Madison on our way to visit Nauvoo. Nauvoo Temple - An overwhelming feeling came over me as the temple "appeared" before us when we entered Nauvoo. It was a feeling of great reverence to be in this place and to feel the sacred ground beneath my feet and to remember what had taken place here.

Carthage Jail. Joseph & Hyrum Directly across from the temple is this beautiful bronze statue of Joseph and Hyrum. the Mississippi River is beyond to the left.

St. Louis at night ....in case you couldn't tell. Zoom, zoom, zoom as we race to our next stay in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. We had 4 stops on this last day. West Virginia: Panera Bread for lunch, then stopped at a glass factory and then had to stop at the place that was advertized every 5 minutes. The place was called Tamarack. Actually it was a hugh collection of very nice WV crafts to buy.

Last stop was to eat at Five Guys in Virginia and then zoomed to Richmond. Arrived about 10 pm.

December 18, 2008: Good Day for making a snowman. OK he is a little whimpy, but it was a valiant attempt!

February 27, 2009: Last day of work. Yippee!!
Now to get to my long list of things that I want to do when I grow up.