Burj Al Arab Hotel & Plam Island

Ray was able to visit the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai.
From the sky lounge you can see the Palm Jumeirah...the man-made palm island behind him.

U.A.E.

Ray is in the United Arab Emirates from June 2008 till January 2009. He likes this deployment a little better than some of his others. He still works long hours, but it's not a harsh. He is still working on his masters and maintains a 4.0gpa...he's my hero! ;-)

Venice Italy

Ray toured Venice just before deploying to the United Arab Emirates in June.

Luxembourg

I LOVE LUXEMBOURG! This tiny country is absolutely beautiful! Not a speck of trash or anything distasteful anywhere in sight. The roads are excellent, the people are friendly and the pastoral scenery is breath-taking.

Belgium

We arrived in Arlon Belgium the day after the international gay and lessbian affair week. It was was sorta strange to see a heavy set man walking to breakfast in heels and a dress. Not too many folks out and about at 8am, so we were able to get a good cafe and we had the best cappuccinos in Belgium! They can sure make a good cup of coffee there!

The buildings were lovely and the sculpures were very interesting. I took a pic of a big owl guarding the entrance to a pharmacy...I thought Ginny would like it since she loves Owls.

Portugal

Portugal was lovely with nice beaches. Ray thought I would be able to talk to the locals, but Portugese sounds like russian to me. Some of the words have similar spelling to Spainish, but it sounds very different. They really like the splashy colors and modern architeture. It's a litlle too funch for me.

Germany

Ray and I went to Germany in May. It was BEAUTIFUL! We did wine tasting...beer drinking...sight seeing...rivering cruising...and of course some shopping. The coo-coo clocks are lovely. The coo-coo bird is a real bird in Germany that destroys eggs in another bird's nest and then leaves its own eggs in place of…for the other birds to care for and hatch. Interesting eh? Some clocks are very intricate and of course they are VERY expensive. Even the tiny-tiny cheap ones are close to $100. Big ones can go between $1000-$3000.

This one is about $1500.

We saw many beautiful, fairytale castles…and is that a princess I see?

Lets not forget the phenomenal beer! Oh yeah…it’s so much better than the beer in the U.S.

If you come to Europe...I recommend Germany!

Three Little Kitties

Our stray kittens have grown!

Spanish Animals

We had a fun filled week with animals. We took in a a stray Spainish cat, whom was pregnant. She had her kittens in the middle of our bed!! Rotten cat!

But honestly, she's been the sweetest kitty and we'll probably end up keeping her. Right now she has no-name :( Here is Ray with the three little kittens. One has gimpy hind legs...we'll see if it makes it.

Same time, we puppy sat for a neighbor. 2 days into it, Lucky was stung by bee and had a bad alergic reaction. Of course it's the weekend! After a handfull a benadril pills...he started to improve. Here is Ray with Lucky a day after the trauma!

Ahhh animals!

Our House is Sold!

Glorious Day...our house just closed in Layton Utah. Finally! It took 10 months of holding out...but a decent buyer finally came along. WOOOHOOO!!

Ughhh...Studying

Here we are at Mission Control...this is where we spend most of our time these days. I have 3 more classes and I'm DONE with Masters #1....Ray just started his in Homeland Security and he's teaching me all kinds of creepy things about terrorism.

The Albicin

Ray's Mom visited us for a week in February. We took her to Granada and I showed them around my 'old stomping' grounds. When I was a foreign exchange student in College, I loved to hang out in the Albicin...which is the Arabic quarter. They have colorful things for tourists to buy.

BODEGA! That's Spanish for Winery

One thing Spain does well is WINE! Let me show you...


We went to a bodega in Jerez, they make Sherry...A LOT of sherry. We toured the cask warehouse and then got to Sample! Yeah...that was a good night!

England!

Just after Christmas, We went to England. Well, actually we went to the Rock of Gibraltar which is tiny corner on the Iberian Peninsula still controlled by England. You still need your passport to go visit...so we have stamp from Great Britain! The Brits say they'll give the area back to Spain when all the Monkeys (which inhabit the the 'Rock') are gone. Naturally, the Monkeys are well fed and cared for! Behind the Rock is the coast of Africa. You can't see it in this picture because of the fog on the water.

We had some excellent beer along with our Fish and Chips!

Oh yeah, When you're a monkey, you don't care where you 'whip it out'. The monkeys were a little scary...some were HUGE and a little aggressive. I tried to stay clear!

Equine Expo in Sevilla (December 2007)

Look at these beautiful horses! In December, Ray and I went to an Andalusian Horse Expo in Sevilla. We saw so many different disciplines and demonstrations...my head was about to explode!

Proposing Again!

We were walking infront of the Granada Cathedral (where half of Chistopher Columbus is buried) and I told Ray I had wanted to get married in that cathedral....he did the next best thing and proposed again. Ahhhh..so sweet!