The Ways of Venice

When we arrived in Vencie we had a bit of a starling surprise, after wandering around the maze of streets to find the place we were supposed to stay we found out she had no idea we were coming. Luckily, she called a couple of people around town and set up places for us to sleep. We were all very grateful. We actually ended up in a great part of town, with a water us stop just over one bridge and an easy walk to St Mark's square. 

After we got settled, we went out and wandered around to get lost in Venice. We did an excellent job of getting lost! We heard an opera from the backstage doors, saw an illegal fire dancer, listened to dueling violinists on the square, and watched the gondolas bob in the lagoon. We enjoyed our stroll and were thankful for the map!

The next morning was a slow one, we slept in a bit, had a light breakfast at the apartment and headed off to Lido, a regular stop on the waterbus. The water felt great, but it was no where near as beautiful as Capri. We had planned to stay until 5, but by about 3 the kids were all ready to leave. 

After a home cooked meal, a few of us went off for a waterbus ride down the canal. We ended up facing the strong way and took a ride out to Lido and back instead. We saw some amazing lightning over the city and enjoyed the evening.

Our last day was a busy one, with a your of the Doge's Palace and then a boat your out to Murano and the other islands. The boat was packed, so we decided to leave the tour at Murano and take the bus back to Benice. We saw an artist shape glass and did some shopping.

We ended the evening with another tour and our gondola ride, where my gondiet talked on his phone the whole time! Awe well, such is life.

Veni, Vidi, Vici,

Today was pretty amazing, and Gaby wins the tough chick of the day award. 

Eight of us went on a seventeen mile bike ride through the Tuscan countryside, and they have major hills! The Texas hill country looks wimpy compared to what we did today! Of course, we did the easy ride, and the owner and guides from I Bike Tuscany were awesome!

We began our ride in the town of Castelena, stopped for a water break and photo in Ruddo, and finished in Brolio. It was beautiful but I think it about killed me. Maria and I were only able to do 16 of the 17 mile ride, those inclines are intense. Everyone was pooped when we finished though so that makes me feel less like a wimp. (When the boys said it was tough for them and they were tired, it made me feel better about not doing that last mile.)

After our ride, we had an amazing lunch at the Castello Brolio restaurant where the Baron has held that title since 600 (when the Romans were still the envy of the world), the current Baron is the 32nd generation of the ruling family. The family also owns and operates the second oldest producing winery in the world. Our tour operator, Marco, arranged a private tour for us so we could see how they make, bottle, and age wine in Italy. It was awesome!

Tomorrow we head to Firenze (Florence) to see art and see how well the kids do on the scavenger hunt I made! Expect some great pictures from that. 

Tuscan Nights

We arrived in Tuscany today after a windy drive through the mountains and we are I heaven. The stay is part Middle Ages tower and part additions through the centuries, it is all stunning. We do not have air conditioning but with the breeze on top of the hills we should be just fine.

The girls took a cooking class and made a four course meal for the group for dinner, we have enough for dinner tomorrow as well. It was delicious! They said they'd never made such a big meal before, but were very proud of the final results.

Tomorrow we have our bike ride, and frankly we are all a bit nervous after driving the roads today. This place is stunning however and several of the boys have already decided to come back here for their honeymoons. 

Our hosts are wonderful and we are so glad we happened upon it! 

Pizza!

The two days that we have been in Naples have been a blast. My favorite thing about this city is the pizza. Since Naples is the birthplace of the food, it makes sense that it would be the bomb. I was expecting it to be pretty good, but I had my mind blown. 

The pizza we ate here is by far the best I have ever tasted. As fast as I ate it, it is surprising I did taste it. We went to the same pizzeria twice because it is so amazing. 

Not only is the pizza amazing, but the ice cream is fantastic. I just can't seem to get enough of it.

Day 2 in Naples

We went to Pompeii today. It was a great experience! It was amazing being able to see all the ruins. We walked around for two hours and yet we didn't see all of it. Most of us were amazed by everything we saw. We even got to see the bodies that were found in Pompeii a ways after the volcano erupted. We took a lot of pictures and will sure share with y'all. 

Tomorrow we will go to Capri. I know Maria and I are very excited to go! We have been waiting to be able to go to the beach since the beginning of our trip! We will take a hydrofoil to Capri in the morning, spend the whole day there and return to Naples in the afternoon.

 We hope to have a blast and we will keep you updated throughout our trip! 

Traveling Like a European

We left our stay in Rome this morning after a beautiful breakfast of freshly made croissants, coffee, yogurt and fruit. Our supposedly short trip to the train station turned into a tour of the city, but we made it. We ended up having to purchase train tickets for the first class cars so we didn't have to sit at the station for two hours.

While we were waiting for our train, one of the kids' backpacks was stolen, luckily everything in it is replaceable. This is one of those things that every traveler in Europe experiences at one time or another and it is easy to remedy. It did lead to a reminder about keeping track of every bag and making sure when we are in a train station to keep everything together, important documents on their person or with one of the chaperones, and to be aware that theft is real here. Part of travel is learning how the world works and even though the kids were a bit shaken up they had recovered well by the time we were on the way to Naples.

Because we had first class tickets we had cars a la Harry Potter, minus the every flavor beans and chocolate frogs! The kids were lucky enough to have their own car while the four chaperones cozied up to a couple of Italians who made phone calls at every stop. First class in Italy does not always mean private, but the seats are much more comfortable.

Our two hour trip was delayed a couple of times because of another train which had broken down on the line in front of us. While we waited, we were "treated" to a serenade by one of the other passengers...it was amusing. Especially when a woman keep telling him to stop singing. When we finally got moving again we came upon the Gulf of Formia, and got closer to the ocean. There was an obvious change in the scenery and homes, fewer billboards, more green, and shorter buildings to name a few. I image the streets also had much less trash than in Rome.

When we finally arrived we went through a beautiful subway station and into the  historic district where we were greeted by tons of graffiti! It was truly a day of travel in Italy!

A Papal Audience

This morning we all awoke before 5:30 AM to begin our day at the Vatican. We had no real idea of what to expect, aside from the thousands of chairs we saw yesterday on our way out of St. Peter's Basilica. We had planned to arrive at 6AM, hit the market for a quick breakfast and snack purchasing, but we got out of the Castello a bit later than planned. Several of the kids seemed a bit more tired this morning, but they were in good spirits. 

We arrived at the Vatican to find a mass of people waiting to fill the square, we were all glad we hadn't arrived at 6AM as originally planned. After forming our own little people train to push through the crowd, we swept through the metal detectors and into the sections of chairs. From what we were told, the free tickets we had guaranteed us seats. We were lucky and found seats in the first section of chairs. By 7:30 we were all seated and began the wait for Pope Francis...at 10AM. 

Spirits were still good, but a few of the kids took naps in their seats. It was not a place to just wander around. We had been told by the US Bishop's office to expect 100,000 - 200,000 people. They weren't kidding. The seats filled quickly and we pulled out a few games and were awed by the masses. 

The crowds are nothing like those in the states, even thoughthere were tons of police, secret service, and Swiss Guards throughout the crowd, everyone seemed calm and contented to wait. Even the kids understood the significance of this morning. 

When the time came for the Pope to arrive, the crowd climbed up on chairs as he was driven around the square kissing babies. As we watched, our name was announced as visitors today and we cheered louder than I've ever heard the kids cheer! 

The message was simple, and read in six different languages, remember to love one another and do not feel as though your faith has to be outward only. He then bestowed his blessing upon all of us and our families and loved ones before blessing the relics we had all brought. 

As a non-Catholic I'll never be able to truly understand the intensity and importance of seeing the Pope, but as a person of faith and the world I am glad to have this experience. It is moot to ask, "How many people can say they have seen the Pope in person?" simply because there are so many people at each public audience, but that does not make it less of an amazing and unique experience. 

On our last full day in Rome, we are able to experience something many people in America might balk at, thousands of people gathering together, in peace, to join for a few moments of faith, whether we were all of the same faith or not. I did not feel pressure to change my beliefs, purchase everything the Vatican has to offer, or nervous by being surrounded by thousands. This morning was truly a morning of peace, faith, and joy. I doubt I will ever have a similar experience again, and I hope the kids feel the same way.

Rome - Day 2

I have to say this has been the best day in Italy thus far. We did so much! I was amazed by everything we saw and did. It was a great day, but we still have 14 more days to make this trip a trip of a lifetime!

Yesterday was our first day in Italy and it was exausting for most of us. I think some of us went around maybe 20 hours without sleep. This had been the longest time I have gone without sleeping. It was tough!

Today was awesome! We started off the day by visiting the Vatican. We went to the Vatican museum, Sistine Capel, Saint Peter's Basillica, a Glatiator school, (it was so much fun!) Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and did so much more stuff. It's amazing what we saw. 

Living in the small town of Valentine and at the Coal Mine Ranch for most of the summer, this has been a great experience so far! So many people have told me how amazing Italy is and I have to say it is. It takes some time adjusting to the time and changes, but it is fantastic! 

Tomorrow we are going to the Pope's public audience at the Vatican. There are supposed to be between100,000 to 200,000 people at St. Peter's Square. It is also our last night in Rome so we plan to wonder around the city after dark to see the beauty of it at night!

Rome - Day 1

We have arrived! We got to Rome at 7:30am and didn't stop until 5:00 PM, needless to say, we we exhausted! The kids did an awesome job packing and traveling. They were excited once the first plane took off, Rye asked when the next flight would be as soon as we landed in Atlanta. By the time we got to Rome, they looked like pros. 

The hardest day of international travel is always the first day, clearing customs, finding the stay, finding food, and fighting jet lag. Once again, the kids handled it beautifully. We didn't do much today, we wanted an early night since Day 2 will be early and long. We went to the Colosseo and visited the Basilica of San Clemente where the kids got their first taste of the architecture here and the ornate style of churches. It was really cool for me to see them try to take it in. I think they were not aware how overwhelmed they were with what they were seeing, tomorrow they have even more ahead of them!

We'll try to have someone post daily when we have wifi available. I'm so glad to share this experience with such a great group of kids and am so proud of the new skills they have already acquired (using the metro system and navigating huge crowds of tourists). 

Remember we are 7 hours ahead of Texas time so as I type this it is 1AM and I am sitting online in one of my doctoral classes, I think I'll have a large caffe latte in the morning! For now, ciao!

Almost There!

With less than 10 minutes left for most of the travelers to leave Valentine, I sit here waiting anxiously and decide to write on our blog!

I can't believe it's already here! It's been about a year of waiting for this weekend to get here. Now it's unbelievable that tomorrow morning we will all be getting on that plane and head to Italy!

There's all sorts of emotions going through me right now, first graduation and all the crying from last night, now all this excitement to finally complete our dream. I am literally about to go crazy, I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight because of the excitement.

I hope everyone stays in touch with our blog, here you will be able to see the amazing fun things we will be doing in Italy. And prepare yourselves for when we get back home, I don't think we will be able to shut up for a while. We will have great experiences! 

Milan...the fashion, the art, the shopping!

Our last stop in Italy is the fashionable city of Milan, I'm sure we will all be very tired by the time we arrive, but that doesn't mean we are done yet! The day we arrive, we have a walking tour of the city that includes a viewing of DaVinci's "The Last Supper." Once again, the tour was cheaper than just a viewing of the painting, so we thought we'd learn a little about the city too.

 

"The Last Supper" is arguably one of the most famous and most important pieces of religious art ever created, and according to some was not actually completed. We'll get to decided whether it is complete or not for ourselves!

Other than the tour and art we will be taking in a little culture while in the city. We also have tickets to attend a symphony at the Teatro Alla Scalla, one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world. Mrs. Houy and I are especially excited about this, not only will we get to attend a symphony while in Italy, we will also get to introduce the experience to the kids. It will be a busy day, but I have a feeling it will be awesome!

After our long day of touring and taking in the culture, we will have a down day. It is likely we'll spend this day doing laundry, wandering around the city, and visiting the massive mall in Milan. Some of the boys have already talked about saving up all their spending money so they can buy something snazzy in Milan. I just wonder if I will be able to afford a scarf, assuming I'll even be dressed well enough to be allowed in the stores!

 We'll be staying in a Bed and Breakfast again while in Milan, and it is really cute. We had a difficult time finding a place to stay that would take 10 people in Milan, and when it came down to two options, the seniors chose this one: Antica Corte Milanese

After our short time in Milan, we'll board a train for Zurich and the trip home. Our train will take us through the Alps and I have a feeling I'll be plastered to the window taking in the view. We plan to have updated posts every day or so while we are travelling so be sure to check back regularly. We'll post pictures and some videos so you can see all the fun we are having! For those who have secret hopes of fitting into our luggage, we apologize, but you'll be in our hearts and heads and we travel.

 

Ah, Venice!

After our whirlwind stop in Tuscany we will head to Venice, where we will explore the waterways and visit the palace of the Doges of old. Hopefully no one will be overcome by the sadness on the Bridge of Sighs, because then they won't be able to enjoy the gondola ride!

 

We have arranged a couple of tours of the canal city, one where we will get to visit the palace and take a boat ride out to the island where Murano Glass is made! The other tour is a walk through the city in the evening that ends with a gondola ride. The latter tour was a great find, we wanted to make sure the kids could have the iconic ride, but when we looked at prices, for a 30 minute ride for the 6 of them would have cost us almost as much as a three hour tour of the city where all 10 of us can have a ride! We opted for the three hour tour (doing your homework really makes a difference!)

We also plan to spend the day on the Lido, another day of fun in the sun!  This beach experience will be different from our day in Capri, but we'll have gotten to play at the beach in two different parts of the country! We will have to take a waterbus out to the island, and I'm not sure how long that will take, but it's an adventure!

Once again we'll be staying off the beaten path somewhat. We've rented an apartment just three blocks from St. Mark's Square, and with Venice being full of water it is perfect for us to walk just about everywhere we want to go!

Venice is one of the last stops on our trip, and we'll all be sad to reach this spot (although we won't be sad to get to see it!)

The Art of Tuscany

After our time in Naples, we'll travel through the countryside to a farm in Greve in Chianti where we will participate in an authentic cooking class. The girls are looking forward to learning how to cook like Italians, and the guys are looking forward to eating it!

The farm is beautiful and the owner, Silvia, has been a great help figuring out some logistics for our stay. She has been posting pictures on her Facebook page of the flowers in bloom and it is stunning: http://laghiandaia.net

Once we arrive in the Tuscan region we will visit Florence as well as take a bike ride through the region. In Florence we will see as much art and climb as many stairs as the kids will allow. I have also created a scavenger hunt for us to do while we explore the city. Be on the lookout for pictures and videos from that for sure!

I am excited to see the looks on their faces as they experience the statue of David and the stunning painted ceilings of the buildings in the home of the masters. I'm sure we will all be out of breath as we climb the 400+ steps to the top of the cupola of Il Duomo, where we will take in the majestic view of the region. And, of course, we will all treat ourselves to gelato.

Once we have had our fill of art we will return to the country and travel by bicycle for 17 miles as eel explore the hills, valleys, and villas of the area. It should be amazing! Our third stop on the trip will probably be our most exhausting, but it will be worth it!

Naples!

The city we will visit second on our trip is Napoli! The home of pizza (although their pizza is very different than what we know here), where if you order a pepperoni pizza you'll get a pizza with peppers on it. We've also been told that pickpockets are excellent in Naples, so we all plan to keep our wallets close to our hearts.

We'll be doing more than just eating pizza however, we plan to spend a day on the Island of Capri and visit the ruins of Pompeii.

Capri will be our first time at the beach and we have our sunscreen ready! We will be taking a hydrofoil out to the island, they look like boats on skis! The video is from a hydrofoil on Lake Como in Italy, we might all get the funny tummy feeling from this ride!

 

We will also be visiting the ruins of Pompeii, I am very excited about this. I have often heard the stories and seen the pictures of the devastation caused by Mt. Vesuvius,  I can only imagine the power in a place like that. It should be a great learning experience for all of us.

We are continuing our tour of the country staying at a neat little bed and breakfast in a historic part of the city: B & B Napoli Centro Storico

Things We'll See in Rome

Since we are less than 40 days away from our trip, we thought you might enjoy a sneak peek at some of the things we'll be doing in each city.

Rome is our first stop!

We will of course do the traditional Roman ruins: The Coliseum, The Parthenon, and the Trevi Fountain, along with wandering the streets of Rome and seeing the most famous church in history.

Not only will we toss coins into the fountain, we will walk along the rows where the ancient Romans watched Gladiators die, and see the bones of Raphael while staring up into the oculus of one of the most amazing churches in Rome.

We will also spend time in the Sistine Chapel before the crowds arrive and attend a public audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican. After some time at the Vatican we are planning a truly Roman experience, Gladiator School for the kids and I. We all have to earn our way into the school with the raffle tickets we are selling, but I'm confident we all can! Learning to fight like a Gladiator is something we are all excited about!


One of the coolest things about our trip is the places we will be staying. We are not staying in a traditional hotel in any area we visit, with the exception of Zurich our last night, we are staying in castles, apartments, and at a working farm. In Rome, we are staying at Castello Scandeluzza: http://www.castleofrome.com/index2.htm 

We will of course take lots of pictures and share them via the blog and Facebook throughout our trip! We are so excited!!!!! The countdown is really going now!

45 Days to Go!

One of the big meetings before our trip to Italy was a total success. All six kids and three of our chaperones met yesterday, Wednesday, April 17, at the high school kitchen during lunch, to discuss our final agenda and everything we need to know about travelling.

With only 45 days left before we leave to Italy, all that most of us can feel is tension and excitement, and with yesterday's meeting it only helped me feel more stressed and definitely much more excited! Our sponsors tried to talk about every tiny detail about packing, airport checkpoints, and expectations of being in a whole different country.

As they would talk about our plans for the trip and plans before we leave, my head was going crazy! All I could think of was, how I can't wait to get on that plane and land in Italy! But, then the fact that we still have 45 long days to wait, it only makes me stress and somewhat sad, because that means I still have to worry about school, work, and plans for graduation. Although as for graduation I am not as excited as I am for our trip, I am ready to get over it and travel to El Paso the next day to wait for our flight all night long, since I won't be able to sleep until I set foot on that plane.

All of this excitement isn't only because of the fact of travelling to such an amazing place, but because it means that everyone's hard work is finally paying off. We all now know that all of the time, money, work, and patience that all of us six kids, our sponsors, and the community have put into this group during these two years, has been worth it.

There are not enough words to describe how thankful I am to all of those people who have helped us reach our goal, how grateful we all feel and for the sacrifices everyone has made to help us raise enough money to be able to have such an amazing experience.

I know that this will be a lifetime experience, and as I said before, I am glad that it will be with these five amazing kids and our two great sponsors that I will get to travel with and have the time of my life. Now all there is left for all of us to do is to start packing and make a list of gifts we want to bring back home. Final words: I can't wait any longer! And again, thank you all for your support and kindness!

Words of Wisdom

Congressman Pete P. Gallego came by Valentine School today to talk with the kids about what he does. For those of you who don't know, Pete is a local out here in West Texas; he was born and raised in Alpine. As a teacher, it is always great to know someone in Congress truly cares about the people and kids in his or her community. Pete was in Valentine for the Big Bend Brewery "Valentine's Day in Valentine" party and he has attended several of Valentine's Homecoming celebrations, his is a familiar and welcome face out here.

He spent about an hour with the students of Valentine, and happily answered questions from any kid who had one (the kinder and pre-k kids were the best at asking questions today). He also had some words of wisdom for the students. He told them that they really can achieve any goal they want to achieve, he went from Alpine Elementary School to Washington, D.C. Watching the students of Valentine get excited about his answers to, "Is there a library?", "Have you met a President?", and "What is your favorite part about working in Washington?" was rewarding.

The high school kids didn't ask questions, but for some this trip to Italy is probably the first big step to following their dreams and achieving their goals. Thank you Mr. Gallego for stopping by and always reminding our kids they are important to you.

P.S. I was shocked at how tall Pete is...not sure why, I'm surrounded my giant teens on a regular basis, but I was surprised :)

A Bake Sale and A Countdown!

With 50 days left before we board a plane for Italia, we are into the final push of fundraising. We are still a couple of thousand dollars shorter than we'd like to be (the exchange rate to the Euro means our money doesn't go as far), but we've got a couple of things left. Yesterday, three of the boys and I spent the day in Ft. Davis having our last bake sale. The Maria and Latham were taking the ACT test and Gaby was on her way to Lubbock for Regional Golf competition.

The first bake sale we had in September helped us to raise almost $900, this sale was closer to $500. We didn't make as much but we had a good time.  The boys enjoyed telling everyone good morning who came to the store, whether they purchased goods or not, and I was impressed with how many shoppers knew who we were and where we plan to go.

The boys were even asked to pose with a lovely woman from England here on holiday. She said her mum had kept asking if she'd found a cowboy, and we had three! She was excited to take a picture with the boys and they were happy to oblige :)

With so few days remaining, and spring semester being what it is, we won't have anymore big fundraisers, with the exception of our Mother's Day Luncheon on May 11th. We will have at least one more raffle. Randy Glover, a local artist donated a beautiful necklace that we will be raffling soon! If you have any ideas of ways to help us reach our final goal, please let us know. We've worked extremely hard to be able to afford the trip to Italy, now we want to make sure our money goes as far as we need it to.

Big Bend Brewery Makes Donation!

For the past two years, the Big Bend Brewery located in Alpine, TX, has hosted "Valentine's Day in Valentine" and that event has led to donations for the school and Travel Class. This year, Brewer, Steve Anderson and Brewery Manager, Richard Fallon drove down to Valentine to present the checks. They donated a total of $5,000 to the school and Travel Class and we are so thankful!

As the days between now and our trip begin to dwindle, we are in the final throws of raising money and we don't have many more activities (we've got a bake sale in Ft. Davis on April 12th). The more money we can raise, the better off we will be in a country where the exchange rate is NOT in our favor, and donations like the one the Big Bend Brewery made go a long way.

Since all the kids were away at track and tennis competitions, I was the lucky one who received the check!

The Big Bend Brewery wasn't the only local business to make a donation last week. We also received a generous donation from the Ft. Davis State Bank located in Ft. Davis, TX. We are so lucky to have so much support from so many local businesses and hope we make them proud as we travel through Italy.

We also received a gift from the bike mechanic on Bubba's Bike Tour when they stopped in Valentine on March 26th! He gifted us with a pirate flag that has been cross country from California to Florida several times with different groups of bicyclists.

It truly is amazing how small the world can be and how many people from so many different states and lifestyles are touched by the story of our small school with big goals.

Meet the Travel Class Kids!

Every year at this time, the Travel Class kids meet Bubba's Bike Tour at the library and share lunch and brownies together. Several years ago, Bubba and his bike tour came through Valentine and ever since they have enjoyed meeting the Travel Class kids and hearing about who they are as kids. This year, the kids will all be at UIL Academic contest when Bubba and his 50 riders come through town. I didn't want them to miss out on hearing about the kids this year though, so I made a "highlight" video of what they've done this year. I thought I'd share it with you as well, if you don't know the kids personally, this will give you a chance to get to know them some.

Please enjoy getting to know the kids!

So close we can taste it!

Since the articles in the Cenizo Journal and the El Paso Daily times came out in January, we have received so many good wishes and donations from people, we have hardly been able to keep up with the "thank you" notes! It is humbling to us that so many people are willing to help us achieve our goal and visit Italy...in less than 80 days! We wanted to take a moment, amidst the hustle and bustle that is Spring Semester in a small school (the boys are at a golf tournament today, Friday they have track and next week we will all be gone at One Act Play competition, golf tournaments, UIL District Academic contest, and track!) to add to our previous list of donations we have received.

Thank you so much for your support!

Craig and Judy Brown, Midland, TX
Brown-Nieme Family, Dallas, TX
Margaret Matthews, Alpine, TX
Ann and Walter Miller, Horizon City, TX
Karen B. Johnston, Horizon City, TX
Gail Suggs, Carlsbad, CA
Cenizo Journal
Raymond and Ellen Quigg, Quigg Ranch, Terlingua, TX
Nancy Riley, Austin, TX
Linda Lorenzetti, Menlo Park, CA
John Elsbury, Alpine, TX
James Brundage, El Paso, TX
BTO Oil, Midland, TX

104 days to go!

Valentine's Day is done and was a huge success! I think many of us still have aching feet from dancing on Saturday night. We are now 104 days away from our departure date and have no more large fundraisers in front of us. We are still a little short of our goal, but we hope to be able to make that money through lunch specials, donations, and a bake sale this spring.

Over the past two years the kids have done a great job working for their money. They are, of course, a group of teenagers, but for me they are superstars. I have rarely ever had to ask more than once for something to be done. They are always willing to help when asked and they know their goal.

We will be covering a huge span of Italy as we visit Rome, Naples, Capri, Pompeii, Florence, Pisa (hopefully), Venice, Milan, and then a train through the Alps to Zurich for our ride home. It is exciting for me to watch the kids begin to prepare for such a huge trip, and frankly they have little idea how to prepare. The seniors seem to be more excited for the trip than they are for graduation.

Our plane tickets have been purchased, our rental car has been reserved,  and all of our stays have been booked. Now we are really just raising money for our play (food, tours, travel). I can just imagine the pictures and looks of awe that will soon become a part of the memories and lives of these six kids. I hope it is something they will never forget, I know it will be a trip I will remember always.

Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is upon us, and as citizens of Valentine, TX, that is a huge deal! This is one of our busiest weeks of the year (aside from Homecoming), and by Sunday, February 16th, we'll all be exhausted!

Not only do we have the holiday coming up where we are selling chocolate covered strawberries, we've also got a concession stand at a town roping, our dinner and dance, preparing for a huge party put on by the Big Bend Brewing Company here in town, and of course the beginning of spring sports.

Spring semester is always busy, and with so few kids in the high school, we are always busy. Those of us planning for our trip to Italy in June are counting down the days!

Yesterday, my co-sponsor and I drove to Midland (a 2.5 hour trip one way) to pick up these beautiful strawberries from HEB. We have purchased about 200 this year since last year we had more ordered than we had purchased. We've had orders pouring in, so we sure hope we bought enough this year!

Not only will we be dipping strawberries this week, we will also be setting up for our dinner and dance! I've spent the day making over 100 mini-cheesecakes for dessert! We had a great turnout last year, and with the roping in town hope we have as many people or more than last year. One of our dads is cooking our brisket again and he always does an AMAZING job! We get lots of compliments.

Once this week is done we'll be 105 days out from our trip! Happy Valentine's Day everyone!