MICHAEL'S FEELING BETTER!!!!

YEAH!!!  HALLELUIA!!!!  Just a fever today but energy level back up!!!!  He does not have a traveling gut!  Poor guy! He was the second one up!  After Dad of course, me I just rolled over ;D

This is the Temple of Edfu.  The most preserved Egyptian Temple.  The hyroglyphics and room structures are still intact and very interesting.  There are more than 1000 Horace God's depicted in this temple.  Horace is the God with the Falcon Head.

What a day!  We will be checking out the ships kitchen for a little cooking lesson soon!

homeschooling on the NILE!

A little math, a little LA & history and a lot of scenery!

Our boat went up 8 meters in the Esna Lock.
Can you see the difference?  The little red office was once high above our boat, then right next to it.
Cool huh!

Nile Cruise, Luxor Temple, Karnak

By far the highlight!!!  Pyramids were amazing and awesome,..... however The Temple of Karnak.... I don't have words to describe.  The great "HYPOstyle Hall" is an incredible forest of giant pillars..... 134 of them!  You can still see color on the top stones.  Bob and I could have stayed for hours..... but alas we are being flexible!



Today, We visited the west bank of Luxor seeing the Valley of the Kings, Madinet Habou and Hatchepsut (pronounced HAT - sheep - soup) Temple...( I was Hatchepsut for Halloween).  I wish I could share pictures truly amazing.  Did you know that once the royality was buried the nobles hid the tombs by burying the tombs so that robbers and thiefs could not find the tombs?   There may still be hidden tombs that have not been discovered.   See Michael getting a shoulder ride.  He's still not feeling well.  He couldn't walk in the heat.  He is exhausted and dehydrated.  Bob's worried he'll need dialysis soon.

As I type, our cruise ship (not your typical cruise ship, this one has only 35 rooms) is passing through the Esna lock.  The ship will be dropping 8 meters!  Just like the ride at Disney, the Pirates of the Carribean....  Hands up  "weeeeee", except no "weeeee" only like a water elevator

Tomorrow, we're headed to the temple of Edfu in a horse carriage.  I haven't told Abby about the horses.  She will be thrilled!  It's all about the animals for her!

We were able to do some school work on deck today.  I told the kids, "Instead of writing the date on your work, just write Nile Cruise! We won't be able to put that on our work ever again!  Until tomorrow, of course!"

I want to shout "I saw this, I saw this!!!"  Just like Elf when he heard that Santa was coming at 10 AM.  Remember that!  

Egyptian Museum of Antiquities

2nd Day Egypt, King Tut, Mosque & Blonde Hair

Remember in November we went to San Francisco to see the Tutenkhamen exhibit at the DeYoung Museum, well today we went to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities.  There is 7,000 years of Egyptian history there.  Sadly we were unable to bring a camera.  We saw the gold mask of Tutenkhamun and his many tomb's...... more like cascading sarcophaguses (sarcophagi).  The first box holding the young kings body is HUGE, like bigger than a garden shed huge, and the many that fit inside, ALL GOLD!  We saw real live mummies,........ well we're real live and the mummies... not so much.  Abby was asked to have her photo taken with a young muslim girl.  They were both so excited.  (So glad we didn't dye her hair!!!!)  The museum was awesome.  That is the only word I can think of to describe.  Bob and I could have stayed all day,  the antiquities that are at that museum are mind boggling.  What was found in Tutenkhmamun's tomb alone is displayed in a room the size of a football field.  And that was one side of the upper half of the museum.  CRAZY!

Museum was beyond busy, but our guide said it was a good day.  We could move.

We ate traditional Egyptian food at a fancy hotel from the 14th century.  Then we went to the Mohamed Ali Mosque and ancient Citadel.  The fortress was built in 1176 ad, but it was never used as a fortress.  The Mosque was beautiful.  Our guide was able to give us a better understanding of the Muslim religion.  Not so different as we Mormons!  It was a refreshing tour.  Again Abby was asked to have her picture taken, more than once inside the Mosque.  Michael too!  They were both so proud of their blonde hair.  We were mobbed in the mosque by a group of charming muslim girls around 13 years old.  Asking us our names and where we come from, wanting to touch Abby's hair.

More Pictures

We can't believe we're here!!!
It has been AMAZING!!!

I've written this blog 3 times with computer problems and I"m a tad bit frustrated.   So..... I will post pictures and tell later!

WE CAN'T BELIEVE WE ARE HERE!  

  Cairo, population 23 million (and they were all at the Sphinx)

 There are 126 Pyramids, we got to visited 7

 The Great Pyramids of Giza are the only remaining Wonder of the Ancient World 

 Having a guide to drive you around Cairo - PRICELESS 

We really try to get Chris to stop touching everything!

Camels, Horses and sheep oh my.

We knew what cartorches, canopic jars and that during the mummification process the Egyptians pulled the brain out of the nose after smushing it up before we came here!

We were not allowed to photograph inside the pyramid, but we were in there.  At first it was just a teenee bit claustrophobic, but an amazing experience.  Not only are these edifices over 4000 years old, they were built only as a burial site for one king and all his favorite things to use in the afterlife.  Every single pyramid, with the exception of Tutankhamun's  tomb, had been robbed!  Nothing left, even the gold cap at the top of the pyramids was stolen.  

We saw the Solar Barque (boat) , built for Cheops treasure.  This boat was buried un-assembled.  Once excavated it took a crew 6 months to put it together.

AMAZING!  Cheops wanted his afterlife slaves to put this together so he could sail his soul into eternity.

This is a statue of Ramsees II ( Sorry about the spelling, I can't figure out the spell check on this computer!!)  This is the Ramasees thought to be from Moses time.  He was one of the longest ruling Pharaogh's.

Jet lag.....what jet lag!....  It's been a Great first day!

Escalator Miracle!

On our way home from Mary Poppins tonight, Abby's ring fell off her finger.  "Oh NO, that's the 2nd thing I've lost on our trip!.."  Bob and I heard it drop, so we knew the general area where it fell.  We looked and looked and looked but we couldn't find it.  Bob decided to go up to our room with the boys while Abby and I looked a little longer, but Bob yelled from on top of the escalator, "Here's the ring!"  It seems the ring fell and rolled onto the escalator and beat us to the top!  Escalator Miracle!

Where's Percy Jackson?

Did you see "The Lightning Thief" or read the series by Rick Riordan.  Well.......our kids have read this series many times.  (Recommended by Chandler, THANKS CHANDLER!!!) Anyway, first stop in New York, besides FOOD..... Empire State Building, up to floor 600 to Mount Olympus.  We got to the 86th floor and decided it was WAY to windy to venture up to the 600th floor, much to Abby's dismay we descended back to reality only to discover that Elf's dad worked in the Empire State building.  In tribute, we all did the splits on every escalator in New York.  Looking for Macy's  to use the actual stairs that Elf did the split's on..... How's that for reality!

New York Food...... R U KIDDING!

New York tourists!

They see us coming!  The California Tourists!  Every single street vendor, whoever has a card or pamplet to pass out.....we're mobbed!  Is it that obvious that we are tourist?  I'm sure it's not the death grip that Bob and I have on our 2 youngest or the purse slung over my shoulder with camera in extra hand or the map clutched in the other free hand "Asking which subway to the Empire State Building?"  Without all the blearing signs of tourist, New York has been Great!  Food is amazing!  There will be no fast food for us here in the Big Apple!!

We leave in less than 24 hours!  I'm not ready!!

Michael's BD #11

Look at the cutest Birthday presents EVER!

Wicked! AGAIN!!

Bob's mom was with us for 5 weeks, so we went to San Francisco.  And what do you know Wicked was still at the Orpheum!  Bob's mom has never seen a Broadway show and what better show to see than Wicked!  "No one mourns the WICKED!"  I love that show!!!!  We also checked out the Tactile dome at the Exploratorium, a MUST for children of all ages.  However not for the those who suffer "darknaphobia"   (I'm sure that's a real word!) or claustrophobia!  Also our families first visit to Alcatraz.  Tempting but all of us were on the boat ride home!

Every family needs a room like this in their home! I think the food storage room would be perfect, no wait the Team Gender room would be even better. It's our Harry Potter room!

Ahhhh, Abby...... the elusive Abby. Yea,..... that's why I'm dreaming about her disappearing! This will be a great trip for her. She is fascinated with Greek mythology and is really looking forward to Athens. Let's hope that Athens will have the public transportation situation figured out before we get there or else there will be no Zeus!

Michael, age 11 (JUST!) I don't give him much room on birthday, because he didn't give me any when he was born! It'll be great on the trip, because as you can see by this picture that my kids follow the rules, they don't climb and stay off the cue handles! It'll be GREAT!!!!

Chris, age 12, but the size of a 20 year old! Here we're in the dining hall at Alcatraz! He really enjoyed the tour and the audio. Perfect for a 12 year old boy, but I'm not sure it made a lasting impression. I'm afraid he thought the little cells were cool or is it "sick".

Dad, Bob, Stud muffin #1

This is all his great idea! And just to let you know we will not be resting! So that means I will need a vacation when we get back. If anyone needs a rest, it's DAD! This is a picture of Bob and his mom Gisele

The countdown is on! We are leaving on Monday!

You know that time when your just about to drift off into peaceful sleep at night, but your mind is wandering...... Well these last few nights my mind has been wandering with my daughter disappearing in Cairo and I'm seriously thinking about getting her a leash. I'm having anxiety even now in the broad day light about missing one of my children. I think a really strong leash for like a German Shepherd or Doberman pincher would make me feel secure! Arrrrgh! I hate anxiety about my kids!

For those of you who know about my sleep walking and dreams this should not come as a surprise! You may be thinking that Bob should put a leash on me at night!