Today's pic is brought to you by the letter O

Otters and owls. How funny they both start with the same letter.

What are your favourite animals?

I received these Mexican handcarved wooden figures for Mother's Day, while in San Diego. I saw sea otters at Seaworld and river otters at the zoo. I guess my family knows me well.

The Swine Flu

Guess what? No we do not have the flu, but...

the girls have to have an extra week off school, as it has been declared that students who have visited the US and certain other countries cannot return to school for 7 days after returning to Australia. They are not very pleased, as they were looking forward to catching up with their friends!
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Lovin' Las Vegas

We had an action packed 4 days in this amazing place. We took in a show (Le Reve), gambled our pennies in a slot machine while the girls went to the circus in our hotel(Circus Circus) shopped at the outlets and took a day trip to Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. We spent some time in the pool when it wasn't closed due to the very high winds. It was hot too, but felt so safe (after being in Honduras).

Home, safe and sound

We have arrived back home, tired but full of funny stories, special memories, tons of souvenirs and a pile of dirty washing! The cupboards are bare, so I guess its one more night of take-away! Pizza- Aussie style. The American pizza just can't compare!
I promise to share some stories and more pics (how much time have you got?)
Edited to add - forget the pizza, everyone is already asleep. Think I'll go to bed...

Pictures - A Summary Part 3

HONDURAS

A local market
an amazing family who helped us to find our way, in a challenging Country (more later)

Iris's village

Pictures- A summary Part 2

A day in SAN FRANCISCO

Pictures- A summary Part 1

DISNEYLAND

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

(which one is Frankenstein?)

SAN DIEGO

Meeting Iris

15th May

What an amazing day we had, when we got to travel up into the mountains to the project to meet our sponsored child. We travelled in a 4wd, four of us squeezed into the back for the ardous 3 and a half hours journey, much of it on unmade "roads". Our driver Donny was amazing at negotiating the potholes, mud and river crossings. It was difficult at first when we arrived, feeling very formal as we sat in chairs around the walls of the Project Office, attempting to converse through our interpreter. We started to gain some rapport with Iris and her mum as the hour progressed. The parents committee made us feel very welcome, offering cold drinks and painting a huge welcome sign with our names on it. It was a very emotional experience for all of us.

The Happiest Place on Earth

We have had such a great time in Anaheim, especially Disneyland, but are soon to leave to travel by train to San Diego, for the next part of our journey.
The girls got to meet Mickey at Disney Land, and heaps of other characters and enjoyed so many of the rides and attractions. Mr M and Miss A tended to enjoy some of the scarier rides, while Miss C and I had fun on the tamer ones! We did brave Splash Mountain and the very scary Space Mountain and lived to tell the tale however!

Catching Up

Well we arrived relatively unscarred in the US! Miss A threw up in the plane, fortunately less than 2 hours from LA, but she was feeling terrible and we had to throw away her T-shirt! I was boiling hot and felt weak and nauseous too, but managed to keep my dinner in! The time went pretty quick however. I managed to do some crochet on the plane and in transit at Auckland airport. They didn't even notice my plastic hook which was good.

We spent the first day finding our way around Anaheim, shopping and having a swim. We have just left DisneyLand, which was awesome. Miss A and I have come to an internet cafe close to our hotel to catch up with our friends and family! The hotel is clean, but pretty basic, but opposite Disneyland. We are off to Disneyland again tomorrow and on Thursday, with a trip to Universal Studios on Wednesday. The girls are amazed by the sights and sounds, especially. those accents!