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Birthday Photos

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Carter and Ammon's 3rd Birthday Party

Ammon and Carter’s birthday party on Saturday (11-5-2011)
was so wonderful. We had a great day with our family: Uncle Tony, Aunt Karen,
Cousin Alusha, Aunt Merrill, Nana, and Mamaw were here at the house. We had a
splendid time with cake and presents.

Thank you all for keeping up on this blog with Carter and
Ammon’s birthdays along with all your “well-wishes” and prayers. We are so
blessed to have all of you in our lives. Enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed
the day. Happy Monday, everyone.

Themes: Cinderella (Princesses) & Spiderman

Candles are out, and we're ready to cut the cakes!

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Happy Birthday, Ammon!

. Family, Family Travel . , , ,

Ponte Vecchio: Florence, Italy

Happy 3rd birthday to Ammon! She is such a joy and a blessing from God.

Ammon, I love you so much as well as the whole family. Your
Daddy H

P. S. Birthday party pics on Monday!

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November 2011 & Thanksgiving

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Once again, Jesus, the center of our home, the center of our

daily thanksgiving, and the center of our beautiful, upcoming holiday

Thanksgiving.

I know I am a few days late, but “Happy November!”: Our

nation’s month to focus on thanksgiving and gratitude. Haven, Ammon, and Carter

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Florence, Italy October 6, 7, & 8

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Thursday

We stayed near the Piazza de la Repubblica, and it has a carousel.

Carousel: Piazza de la Repubblica Florence, Italy

Because we did not see it October of 2010, we put our bags down and headed straight to the Arno River with the Ponte Vecchio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was so cool! I could just imagine ol’ Dante Alighieri running
over and over the bridge trying to catch a glimpse of his Beatrice….so close
and yet so unobtainable.

Dante’s Tomb a Santa Croce

 

As we headed back into Firenze, we stopped for some
delicious gelati (strawberry, hazelnut, pistachio…yum, yum, yum!). We strolled
around the Brunelleschi’s Dome and Giotto’s Bell Tower and listened to an accordion
player. We ate dinner at the Hard Rock Florence then Carter and Ammon rode on
the carousel at the Piazza de la Repubblica.

 

 

Friday

After breakfast, we went straight to San Lorenzo’s chapel
(Medici Chapel). It took me 25 years to see Michelngelo’s “Day, Night, Dawn
& Dusk”, but I finally saw them! Woo hoo! Around noon, Carter, Ammon, Sean,
and I went to the Mc Donald’s at the train station. It was a great stroll. In the evening we went to go to the Galleria dell’ Accademia to see “David”. It was absolutely colossal and impressive: sculpting perfection.

“Night & Day”

“Dawn & Dusk”

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Happy Birthday, Carter!

. Family . , ,

Florence, Italy at the Ponte Vecchio

Of course, the birthday boy is on the far right! LOL

Happy 3rd birthday to Carter! He is such a joy and a blessing from God.

Carter, I love you so much as well as the whole family. Your
Daddy H

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Pope Benedict XVI Blessings

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St. Peter's Basilica Sunday October 23, 2011

On Sunday October 23, 2011, Ammon, Carter, and I got to see
Pope Benedict XVI. He was giving Sunday Mass at St. Peter’s Square at the
Vatican. We are not Roman Catholic, but we share Christianity as a common bond,
and our Lord and Savior is Jesus Christ. It was a special moment to get to see
him and think of the 1,600 year old traditions of the Catholic Church. It will also be cool to share this with Carter and Ammon when they understand the Pope and what he represents to the world.

Pope Benedict XVI on the "Pope-Tron"

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Hard Rock: Rome & Florence

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Hard Rock: Rome, Italy

If we are in a big, cosmopolitan, international city and we’re
not too sure about what food we want to eat for an evening meal, we usually
make our way to the Hard Rock Café. From experience in foreign countries, we
know we will get a good, satisfying meal. We truly enjoy experiencing native/regional
dishes, but evening meals can be SO expensive, and why pay $30 a person or more
for a meal that you might not enjoy when you KNOW you will enjoy a meal at the
Hard Rock Café even though it can be expensive as well?

Hard Rock Cafe: Florence, Italy

In Italy, we ate at the Hard Rock Café Rome multiple times
this trip, and we ate at the Hard Rock Café Florence twice during our stay
there. We were never dissatisfied, and we always left those restaurants full
and satisfied. We also bought our city tee-shirts! The music is always good,
and Carter and Ammon have a good time with the music and the food as well.

During this quick visit, Venice’s Hard Rock was only entered to buy t-shirts and to use the toilet facilities. ;o)

My family and I have a penchant for Hard Rock Cafes and other European destinations.

Some of my Parenting with Pride (please cruise and peruse!) favorites include Stunning Santorini, Oslo, Norway, Dollywood (Country Music Singer’s Theme Park) in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Marriage Equality in Tennessee .

Give me a “Google” with “Haven Caylor”. Blessings! -Haven

Ammon, Nana, & Carter: Hard Rock Venice, Italy

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Carter & Ammon’s Halloween Party

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Ammon and Carter had a great Halloween Party at school on Thursday. They had a parade in their costumes then a party. Jeanne Ann Hartzog (Jillian’s mother) and I were the co-hosts of the party. It went well: They had snacks and made their own masks with Halloween stickers.

Noah Cate, Jillian Hartzog, Shefaan Dhanani, Sofia Melendez, & Sophia Volz

Ammon, Carter, & Mrs. Paula

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Princess Cruises Promo with Ammon & Carter

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I hope you all enjoy Ammon and Carter’s commercial for
Princess Cruise line’s Reflections video channel, and I hope you all have a great Thursday. Haven, Carter, & Ammon

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Floreat Roma (Let Rome Flourish)

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Trevi Fountain Tuesday October 4, 2011

RomePyramidCestius

Cestius Pyramid & San Paulo’s Gate (Ostiense Gate)

I don’t know exactly what to say about Rome except for the
fact that it is overwhelming. I know there are cities which are older, but its
history is amazing. The area of the Palatine hill, of course, had
settlements way before 753 B. C. (Rome’s official “settling” year), but Rome has seen growths, fires, triumphs, tragedies, desolations, and flourishings. Last Saturday, I stood between theCestius Pyramid and the San Paulo Gate which the Ostrogoths marched through to make the final “Gothic” plunder of Rome, and imagined the  Eternal City’s gates locked and the city desolate. However, a 21st century motorcycle interrupted my image.LOL

I’ll write more about Rome near the
end of the “Fall 2011 Caylor-Brown Travels” blog compilation. By the way, it’s
great to be home! Hope everyone is well, and Happy Tuesday.

Inside the Sistine Chapel Halls (October 5, 2011)

One of Sean and Haven’s few “alone” times (October 4, 2011)