I made this blog to let you know what's going on with me in Albania!

Monday, July 23, 2007

My Birthday, in July?????

This year I had my 27th birthday twice! It was fun being able to celebrate with friends in Texas! Thanks for the great memories!!


Friday, July 20, 2007

On the Road Again...

Here are some pictures from when I drove from St. Louis to Denton, Texas. I stopped in Columbia, Missouri to see my friend Mary and then in Kansas City, Kansas to see my friends Juliana and Mark. All of them are friends from college, and it was GREAT being able to spend time with them!!!!





Friday, July 13, 2007

Pictures of Albania

Here are just some pictures of Albania for you to see:

Sunday, July 08, 2007

4th of July

Well, had a pretty American 4th of July - cookout with the fam and fireworks. Doesn't get better that does it? Here are some pictures to enjoy. The ones of the fireworks didn't come out very well, but you get the idea!!


My aunt and Mom watching these fireworks

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Adventures in Alaska

Well, I'm back in the US again! After getting back to Dallas on the 21st I left almost immediately to go on an Alaskan cruise with the fam. Beautiful is the best word to sum the whole thing up! Here's a brief rundown.

We stopped in Juneau where we went to a camp where they trained dogs for the Iditarod and UConn Quest dogsled races. After learning about the Iditarod in middle school I was interested in seeing what it was like, and let me tell you, it was more fun than I ever thought it would be! My family met a musher, Abbie, who trains the dogs to do the UConn Quest, and she not only introduced us to her dogs but she also took us on a ride!



Next we headed to Skagway where we went on the White Pass Rail, a old-time train that took us the same route as the gold miners! The scenary was very beautiful, but unfortunately we didn't take back any gold! Guess I'm still raising support!



Tracy Arm was our third stop but we weren't allowed to get off the ship. Yes, whereas the Titanic sunk because of icebergs, we actually sailed TOWARDS them! Rushing waterfalls and craggy cliffs outline the long, narrow fjord highlighted by snow-capped mountains. The glacial ice is an incredible and indescribable blue color! Sawyer Glacier, the biggest we saw was over 40 stories high! Amazing!!



On to Ketchikan, my mom's most dreaded stop for one reason, and one reason only...kayaking! Yes, at a water temperature of 55 degrees fehrenheit the Neuman family descended into the kayaks. Let me tell you, it was an adventure!! Neither my mom or dad had ever been kayaking before, so my sister and I each went with one of them. After surviving the two times my dad almost flipped us at the dock (which he will admittedly deny) we were on our way! My mom describes my sister's actions on that trip as being like a drill sergeant, "left, right, left, right". Apparently she wasn't going as fast as Stephanie desired to go! We did manage to hold a live star fish and water jelly, as well as see a sea lion and a bald eagle. Not half bad! We made it without any injuries and everyone still talking after an hour and a half; I'd say we were victorious!!



Victoria, Canada was our last stop, and unfortunately my sister and dad weren't feeling very well so they stayed on the boat. That also happened to be the expedition that my sister picked out, city lights and wine tasting. Unfortunately, my mom doesn't even like wine, so we were in for a fun treat! Thankfully they did the wine tasting with chocolate, so the chocolate saved the day for my mom! The wine was good and we met a nice mother and daughter that were teachers in the Dallas area as well! We had a good time and saw the spectacularly lit up Parliament building as well.


Just when you thought the trip was over...we actually stayed a couple days in Seattle. Our cousins and my mom's friend live in Seattle so we had decided to stay and visit for a few days, unfortunately they all happened to be out of town! Not the best timing, but we did have a place to stay...one out of two isn't bad! Seattle is a great town! For those of you that haven't done the duck tour, the tour that goes in the same vehicle on the road as it does in the water, you haven't done Seattle! We had a great time, and my mom's friend came in town the night before we left so we had dinner with her also!



The vacation was a huge success...good times had by everyone! Right when we got back to St. Louis my aunt and uncle were in from out of town for a visit, so the fun didn't stop! It was great seeing them too!


Now back to Texas. I'll be leaving to drive back down (yeah, I know, scary considering I haven't driven in a while!) later on this week. I hope to see as many of you as possible before going back to Albania towards the end of August! Definitely keep in touch!!