Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Finally!

It has finally snowed!  This has been one of the warmest winter seasons in Poland in a very long time.  I guess that is good for us because it has still been very cold.  When the snow finally came the kids were beyond excited!  I will have to say that it is beautiful!  I have never experienced snow flakes that large. Peighton and Brinson certainly have not ever seen snowflakes that large! Hope you enjoy the pics!  

Berlin part II

Berlin Part II

Checkpoint Charlie

Notice the McDonalds sign!  Yep, that's where we had supper!  Guess whos  request!?

Checkpoint Charlie is the spot where you crossed from East to West Berlin. It was armed with guards at all times!

Berlin City Gate

The Berlin city gate! It was lit up in different colors. There was lots of concerts going on in this location!

Balloon Path

The city lined the path of the Berlin Wall with 8000 lit balloons that would be released at the exact moment the wall came down!

A shot of the balloons at night!




We had an awesome time in Berlin and the experience will be unforgetable!  I am so glad that my children got to experience this as well.  Hopefully if they know what has happened in the past they can help prevent history from repeating itself!  You just never know where they may end up!  If nothing else, the education is priceless!

I was very humbled by this experience !  The amount of people that turned out from all over the world was incredible!  It was almost surreal !   The somber looks on the faces of those who remember touched the soul! The Balloons that lined the entire city, on the exact path of the wall, truly brought about reality!  These people were actually "fenced" in! The conditions were horrible and they knew that there family and friends were just feet away from them.....but they were not allowed to go to them!  There is power in people joining together for a common cause! Never give up!

Poland

     We have arrived! Actually we have been here a couple weeks already !  Time flies!  We have been so busy. We have traveled to Berlin Germany and also to Krakow Poland.  It has taken a little time to "find" things.  You don't just run to walmart...you go to the bakery, butcher, Market ( fresh market outside- vegetables) ! Thank Goodness that all of these are on every block...easy to walk to.  The small town that we are in is great.  I have enjoyed it...reminds me of home.  When we were in Krakow, a much bigger city,  things were harder to get to.  God always puts you just where you need to be.

Gniezno Cathedral at city center in Gniezno

built in 12th century!!

The day we arrived! 

BERLIN GERMANY

The Whites in front of part of the Berlin Wall!

THE WALL- it just so happened that we were able to go to the 25th anniversary of the "FALL OF THE WALL"! It was an awesome experience....to think that just 25 years ago that the city was totally

separated and the East was in such sad shape.  This world seems so big.  It is easy to watch the news and think it is ok, its so far away.  UNTIL...you travel there.  It is not that far away and no one should live under such horrendous conditions.  There was not simply a wall separating the East from the West there were guards, a mine field, barbed wire, and a wall that was not meant to ever come down.  If it takes this much to keep people in your city then there is something terribly wrong! Why should Americans keep there nose in everyones business?  Because we don't ever want this for our own country or anyone elses!  Humanity!  It was only 25 years ago!!! The looks on the faces of people who remember what it was like, tell the whole story...they lived it!

                    Trabi cars-  These small crazy cars were available to rent and drive around the city!

National symbol of Berlin....The Bear!

Peighton and Brinson in front of whats left of the Wall!

Hiking Anyone?

One day as we were out exploring we came across a hiking trail that looked easy enough for us to climb. Don't let looks fool you! Even though the trail looked easy it was quite a little hike to get to the top!  I guess I should also explain, I did not know we would be hiking. Guess who was in her flip flops?! Yep me!  So here we go, hiking in Tucson! Did I mention it was 115 degrees and we were armed with SWEET TEA!

I decide that taking pics of this lizard will give me a little break!

SO much harder coming DOWN than going UP!

NOTICE OUR SWEET TEA CUP?!

Yep! She is RUNNING down!

We had a such a fun afternoon! Peighton has begged to go hiking again! Brinson and I have decided that we may stay at the bottom and set up a picnic on our next adventure. Or maybe just hike in a cooler climate! LOL

Grand Canyon from Top to Bottom- Part 2 of 2

Not only did we see the Grand Canyon, we got to Raft the Grand Canyon! Of course we only got to do the smooth water portion (because of our little ones ages); we still had a blast!  We started at the Dam and rafted to the point where water was starting to get rough.  About 15 miles in all. The view of the canyon walls were magnificent from down at the bottom. We had lunch on the boat and had a great guide named Josh.  He was awesome...reminded me a lot of my nephew Zachary!  Being we had the youngest (actually the only) kids on the boat, we got catered to a lot.  We got to see an actual set of REAL dinosaur foot prints.  This was shown only to us.  The kids thought it was pretty cool and so did we.  The ranger says that there are prints all over the Grand Canyon.  I'm guessing because it is so rocky many of the prints were preserved.  About half way through our trip we stopped and explored some Ancient Indian Art and the kids got to swim.  All I heard was how badly the kids wanted to swim.  Little did they know that when they jumped in the water would be a "COOL" 47 degrees! LOL  I was impressed with Brinson.  He meant that he was swimming and he did jump into about his neck.  Seriously, the water was so cold that your feet would go completely numb in about 20 seconds!  That is as deep as I went, ankle deep!  I will have to say that the cold water was good for lots of things.  Dipping your shirt in the water would keep you nice and cool.  It was also great for keeping our drinks cool.  They were kept in a mesh bag and thrown overboard.  We would just pull the bag up when we needed a drink.
The Colorado is the cleanest river I have ever seen!  It was completely clear to about 22 feet deep.  You could set on the edge of the raft and watch the rainbow trout swim about!  Brinson and I could have had a great time with a fishing pole, or even a net! Its nice to know there are a few clean places left!

I have outlined dino print.  Very hard to photograph!

Ranger telling Brinson about Dino prints!

Indian Art

The Grand Canyon from Top to Bottom!! Part I of 2

Well Folks! Anyone who knows the Whites knows that when we play we play hard! We have closed down Disney World many times, but closing down the Grand Canyon maybe a personal best! We went from daylight til dark for three full days....and had a blast! Once again my kids amaze me. They are awesome..no whining and crying. They can hang better than most adults! I love my life and I LoVe my family! Hope everyone enjoys the pics!

"Look mom! Its a long way down!"

Brinson Made an Indian Toy, a horse.  This is how Indian kids entertained themselves!Its made from a bendable plant.

East end of Grand Canyon. Watch tower in background.

 check out Colorado river in background

Indian Art in Watch Tower on East end of Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is exactly that, "GRAND".  Pictures do not do it justice.  There is no real way to get the depth perception on film.  At the top of the Canyon it is about twenty to thirty degrees cooler than the bottom.  The couple of days we were there the winds would pick up in late afternoon to around thirty to forty mph.  The altitude and wind bothered our nose and lips a lot.  We went thru a whole lot of chapstick.  The cabin we stayed in the first night of our trip was cute but there was something missing ....airconditioning!  I almost had heart failure!  NO air! It took me about thirty minutes to realize the thermastat was for heat only! Then David reminded me that you can Open windows and use a Fan and guess what....we were very comfortable!  I forgot where we were..8000 feet above sea level.  The next night we stayed in a motel.  This time we had air conditioning. The kind that you have to put ICE CUBES IN!  I'm not kidding!  It was like a fan and you put ice cubes in and for three hours you had yourself cool air!  There again, thats all you needed.  After that the temps dropped and nights were very comfortable! Amazing that three hours from Tucson, where it was 115 degrees, you can sleep without air in the Grand Canyon!

Arizona is a very different place!  Southern Arizona is cactus desert land...Then head north and you are in a National Forest in the mountains!  In Southern Arizona you can see for miles and miles....no trees in sight. The land is covered in scrub brush and cacti.  The only thing blocking your view is a mountain that rises out of no where! Northern Arizona is a bit different.  Beautiful trees and lots of mountains!  One thing that is the same all over, is the population of animals! They are everywhere.  On the side of cliffs, or in a field of cacti. You can find deer, hog, lizards, bird everywhere. 

One other thing I forgot to mention about Arizona as a whole, is that there are very few street lights. There are several Observatories here.  So all outside light is prohibited ....or at least voltage is monitered.  I told David when I first got here that  I could see the stars better here than at home.  Then I noticed the abcence of street lights.  So I inquired about this.  That is when I learned of the Observatories throughout the state.  When we visited the Sonoran Desert Museum there was a fella there with a telescope letting people have a look.  We got to see Saturn and its beautiful rings!  It was awesome.

On our trip to the Grand Canyon we passed through the Navajo Indian Reservation.  It is a very large area of land given to the Indians.  I was a LITTLE disappointed.  I still cant figure out if they like their life like this, or if they dont have any options.  Most lived very primatively.  In VERY old single wide trailers or "huts".  The "huts" were very small eight sided buildings made very poorly. On top of lots of homes you would see old tires.  These tires would hold thier roofs on when the winds were high and during monsoon season. Most Navajos had no running water or electricity!  Scary!!! They would take thier water tanks to the closest store and fill up for the week. The stores charged them a dollar.  OK...all you medical people...Water setting in a tank in  115 degree weather for a week.....GROSS!!!! Im not using it.  I guess they build a fire and boil it...not sure. They have their own small school.  I wonder what the kids are taught.  If a child is to be taught English they are bused outside of the reservation to the closest school.  I can tell you that is a very long way! There was a couple of small communities in the reservation that had electricity and running water....about ten houses in each community.  This was not at all what I thought the Navajo Indian reservation would be like.  Of course, the Indians are very secretive.  Which I understand.  They do not trust our government or our people.  I wonder why....just because we ran them off their land and did them very wrong...I guess I understand why they may not trust us!

More coming soon!  SOooo many photos!!! Hope you like!