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Catching up 10-7-2011 (Florence/Firenze)

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Sunday-Monday

Good plane trip. Carter and Ammon slept well. Good nap at
the Hotel Raffaelo in Rome. It is near the Train Station Termini (McDonald’s
food, gelatos, all sorts of souvenirs).

Tuesday

The Roman Forum. We got to see a “discovery” from 2009. It
appears that the Emperor Nero may have had a rotating dining room. It sits up
on the Palatine Hill. They are excavating and studying quite slowly. The Roman
tour guide, Vivian, we had in October 2010 was not there, but her excavation
site is. Her dig is right across from the Temple of Romulus. After Nana,
Carter, and Ammon returned to the hotel for lunch and rest, Sean and I made a
trip back to the Colloseum. This time we were able to take our time and enjoy
the site. It was interesting “stealing” some tour guide information from the
other English speaking tours. Dinner at the Hard Rock Rome.

Wednesday

Up fairly early for the Vatican. Guess what? We missed
seeing the Pope by 15 minutes. He spoke at St. Peter’s Square at 10:30 a.m. ;
however, we headed to the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel at 10:15. The Sistine
Chapel was magnificent! If it wasn’t for the crowd, I could have stayed in
there for hours. For years, I thought Michelangelo’s “Final Judgment” was in
another “chapel” but it is right there (many of you already know that…LOL) on
the wall under the ceiling! Dinner was at an Italian restaurant around the
corner from the hotel. I had lasagna, but I can make better lasagna that they.
I think our American taste buds have a “mind of their own”. I have been in
Italy several times and eaten quite a few Italian meals, and I still think our
Italian food in the U.S. is just as good if not better than here.

Thursday

Eurostar Italia to Firenze (Florence). We are staying near
the Piazza de la Repubblica, and it has a carousel. Because we did not see it
last October, 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. 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. This
afternoon we have tickets to go to the Galleria dell’ Accademia to see “David”.

“Night & Day”

“Dawn & Dusk”

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Ancient Rome…it’s Ammon & Carter again!

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It is so much better when we leave for long trips on a
Sunday. Our burdens to get things done on Saturday are “lifted” a bit with
having both Sean and I to get things accomplished.

House Sitter Guy, thank you! You are a blessing. Mamaw and
Aunt Karen your vigilance when Guy needs a break is SO APPRECIATED, and
neighbors, your helpful eyes are a blessing as well.

This time the cruise itself is only 12 days. We start with an
Italy terrestrial tour: Rome, Florence, and Venice. Then the cruise: Croatia
(Dubrovnik), Mikonos, Santorini, Ephesus, Rhodes, Corfu, and Napoli. After the
cruise, back to Rome. The ships’ Internet is sooooooo slow, and I will not be
able to send photos. It will just be status updates. However, before and after
the cruise, I MIGHT be able to send some photos if we have Internet access.
Everyone take care and God bless. I am looking forward to sharing when we
return. Haven

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Roma est Antiqua, Roma est magna (Rome is Ancient, Rome is Great)

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(sung to
the tune of “Ten Little Indians”)

Unus, duo,
tres Romani

Quottuor, quinque, sex Romani,

Septem,
octo, novem Romani,

Decem
parvi Romani!

From 1989 to 1993, I taught 6th Grade Exploratory
Latin at Bagley Middle School in Chatsworth, GA. My forte had been Spanish, but
the state of Georgia requested that I teach two languages for the middle school
level. I had to teach myself enough Latin so as to teach 6th graders
for six weeks. You know what? I loved it! It also helped that a teacher who was
an expert in Latin and had helped create the Georgia Teacher’s Certification
Test for Latin at that time taught right down the road from me, and she helped me tremendously. Woo hoo!

I was singing the above song to Ammon on Friday night in
preparation for Rome on Monday morning. In my classroom, we use to sing that song as well. I was thrilled that I could remember the numbers! We are also pulling out our photos of our day in Rome, Italy last October when we cruised the Mediterranean so as to build Carter and Ammon’s schema as well. Enjoy your Saturday!

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Friday!

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Gotta love a Friday! Yeeeeeeee haaaaaaaaa!

Oh, man! I wish the frost would hurry and get here so it
would kill my grass! LOL It’s the only chore outside I have left to do before
the trip, and I doubt very seriously that the 13 acres will be mowed. While we’re
gone, our house sitter helps clean house, feed the dogs, and do a few things
outside (cutting grass NOT INCLUDED!) ;o) Oh, me…but I digress

It’s been a busy but enjoyable week, and it’s Friday. Once again,
Carter and Ammon spent a day and a half with Mamaw and Aunt Karen. They
returned late Thursday afternoon. They like Fridays as well. Sean will finish
up at work today, and we will be “out and about” buying the last few things we
need for the trip.

I know it’s just our culture that causes us to work Monday
through Friday with most of us having the weekend off, but I wonder if the
other days ever get jealous of how people prefer Fridays? ;o) Happy Friday
everyone!

 

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Shopping with Carter & Ammon

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Okay, Ammon and Carter still want to play “You can’t catch
me” around the clothes racks, touch mannequins, and grab and snatch things on
displays. While walking around Ammon usually runs ahead of me while Carter dawdles behind me. However,they both come when I call them and hold my hands when I ask them to. Buggies work the best especially if we are in a grocery store or Wal-Mart. Ammon likes
to sit in the “chair” and Carter sits in the buggy section no squabbles have
ever occurred.

I noticed a HUGE change in Ammon and Carter’s listening
habits (for the good) around Labor Day. Carter and Ammon had gotten their
pictures taken, and we needed to find new tote bags for the school year. It was
“raining cats and dogs” because of Tropical Storm Lee, and hardly anyone was in
the store where we had the pictures taken (one of those portrait studios where
they are located in a larger store). After the photo shoot we three took off
to look for tote bags. Ammon and Carter were actually fixed on the task and
stayed near me. We were looking for bags with Sponge Bob, Dora, Disney Princesses,
whatever. I couldn’t believe those were my two children actually shopping with
me. We didn’t find what we needed, but I found/discovered something more
valuable: Two children who can control themselves, listen to me, and not go “hog
wild” in a store where I’m worried about them getting lost. I am not taking
anything for granted, and I am keeping my Daddy H “hawk-eye” on my “babies”,
but please pray for our safety as Ammon and Carter grow up and learn to shop in
crowded, public places.

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The Amazing Race

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Sean and I travel well together. Before children, we’ve
changed traveling itineraries in “mid-stream”, jumped off of moving trains
because we were “headed in the wrong direction”, and run through airports in desperate attempts to catch planes (I’m probably forgetting a lot of things!). However, I’m not too sure we would do well on “The Amazing Race” LOL. In some of our situations, we’ve had to stop, or sit down, or go to the bathroom, or get something to eat, or yell at each other, and re-group. It doesn’t look like they slow down and re-group on the  T. V. show, and I think the pressure of trying to win 1 million dollars would get to us.

Having said all that… “The Amazing Race” started again on
Sunday night, and we are glad. In case you didn’t know, the show just won its 8th
Reality Competition Emmy! If you have never watched it, you need to try it for
several weeks. Here in the Easter time zone it comes on 8:00 p.m. on Sunday
evenings. It’s one show I actually sit down and watch for an hour with or
without Ammon and Carter! Happy Monday, everyone!

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Rome, Italy & The Trevi Fountain

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One week till Rome, Italy. Our 9th cruise (Carter& Ammon’s 8th cruise) starts in Venice, Italy with its emphasis on the Greek Isles. We are stoked! I want to spend just a brief moment talking about a “wish” you may have heard about. Lord willing, it will come true for the Caylor-Browns. When a person is in Rome, Italy, and they wish to return
there, they throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain. If I am remembering correctly,
you throw the coin with your right hand over your left shoulder and make the
wish to return to Rome as you throw it. Well, I did last October, and we all
have plane tickets to arrive in Rome, Italy on October 3rd. Thank
you, God, and thank you Trevi Fountain!

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Good Bye Summer 2011

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Good bye Summer 2011! When it is 20 degrees and the North
Wind is making a chill factor seem like it’s 0 degrees (it’s coming, you know
it), I will post some summer pictures again ;o) LOL

1st Day of Summer 2011

Like I said on August 25 in “Fleeting Summer Fun”, it was a
hot summer.

Late August Heat!!

Will it be WARM again in the next few weeks? Maybe, but not 95-100
degrees like it was when I wrote the before mentioned article.

Overall, I really liked Summer 2011! I am scouring my mind, and think all my family and loved ones were well physically. My favorite part of the summer was Ammon and
Carter swimming without water wings! I was so proud and thankful.

No Water wings necessary!

It’s was on the cusp of spring and summer, but our cruise from the British Isles to Iceland
back to England was a wonderful start to the summer. We had plenty of lightning
bugs, June bugs, crickets, whippoorwills, owl sounds, cicadas, and
katydids. It was dry for the most part, but thanks to Tropical Storm Lee, we
ended the summer with lots of rain (and no electricity for almost 48 hrs! LOL) You
know, I love my nostalgia and memories of growing up, but Carter, Ammon, and I
made some of our own SPECTACULAR memories the Summer of 2011!

Precious Summer Memory

God, thank you for the seasons of the year and for each
special thing they bring, and help prepare our hearts and minds for Autumn
2011!

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Happy Autumn/Moose time!

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Happy Autumn! Our Talkeetna, Alaskan moose

This flag is my just about my favorite seasonal flag of all
time. In Haven’s ideals, the colors are extremely apropos for autumn. It’s true
that we don’t have moose in Southeast Tennessee, but the uniqueness of the
moose silhouette has an autumn-mystique to it. I bought the flag in Talkeetna,
Alaska in 2009 before our Alaskan cruise. It was a several hour drive from
Anchorage and in between Anchorage and Talkeetna there was Wasilla (home of Sarah Palin) as well as a cool reindeer farm in Palmer. The reindeer farm had twin moose (one
male and one female….their version of Carter and Ammon LOL) too. It was awesome. I also got to pet and feed a big ol’elk (I was a little intimidated when he “eye-balled” me)! Okay, I hope one day we are able to return to Alaska for Ammon and Carter to meet, observe, and maybe even pet some animals sucha as moose that are indigenous to that area. Until that time, they and I will enjoy our autumn- moose silhouette flag. Carter and Ammon will wonder what it is like to be actually see and experience the life of a real moose, and I will remember a joyous, memorable, and educational July in Alaska when they couldn’t even walk, and we pushed their strollers through a herd of reindeer. ;o)