Stevie and I went on a parent /child adventure too. We didn't make it to Europe or California but all the way to Carver Park, 27 miles from our home. We packed our tents, sleeping bags, food etc. onto our human powered vehicles and headed to our favorite campground on thursday. The weather was great and our trip out there was uneventfull except for the fact that I had to pump up my back tire a few times because it seemed to be losing air. We fished, we swam, cooked foil dinners over a wood fire , had s'mores and fought off hordes of the minnesota state bird( aka mosquitos). Everything was fine until minutes before our departure friday my back tube gave up the ghost. A spare tube was the one thing I had plenty of back at home. So here we were stranded 27 miles from home on a very warm but beautiful June day. I called home and left a message for Tom to come and get us. I had no idea where he was or when he would get the message. Then while Stevie went swimming again I borrowed his bike and rode a couple miles into Victoria to see if there were any tubes there. I verified that there were no tubes for sale and returned to the campground. Repeated calls to our house confirmed that Tom was not there which meant that either he had'nt heard the message yet or else he had heard it and was already on his way to rescue us. Then I thought of Carsoup.com. They help people resolve their transportation needs . Why not us? When I called Carsoup and explained our problem to their top problemsolver he agreed to help. A short time later this professional delivered the required tube plus a spare and graciously hauled or camping gear back to civilization. With the bike repaired Stevie and I completed our ride at 9:00 P.M. Thank You Peter!

This is our last night in Geneva. It seems we've been gone forever! We look like we've spent the time on the beach instead of at conference in a big city. I have never been so hot in my life (including Disney World in July). Today we toured the Red Cross Museum and the European UN among other things. Our English-speaking tour guide for the UN was from Argentina and some of the people on the tour spoke something other than English as their first langûage, so it was interesting. Liv had the idea of buying all day bus passes so we spent a lot of time commuting back and forth. Nothing is air-conditioned except for our hotel room, but everyone else looks cool and collected on the buses and in restaurants. Home to Minnesota!

Bonjour ya'll. Mom and I had a very uneventfull trip to Annecy, France. It was very nice there. Everything was a lot cheaper than in Geneva. It wasnt cooler there, but I liked it more. There was a big market when we first got there and everyone had there little foofy dog and was buying fruit, veggies, meat, cheese and bread. We walked around the lake and saw some swans. Then we ate lunch at a good Vietnamese restaurant that was sort of in an alley/courtyard thing. We spent a lot of the day in a park. We sat in the shade and read. It was fun and uneventful.
Love,
Livvi'i

My presentation went okay, but the whole thing was strange--kind of a cross between a conference and a camping trip. I had to take a bus up to a beautiful pastoral area and then walk down a road to find the meeting which was held in a kind of old barn or garage! I was wearing a black dress, nylons, and dress shoes and sweating like crazy. We ate lunch first in another old building--neither was air conditioned. And after my talk, the committee pretty much decided they didn't want links to other websites on their site anyway, so to heck with criteria for choosing them!

HI! It continues to be very hot here. This morning I went and saw the University, it was very pretty. Then I went on a boat tour, that was very fun. There were very few people on board except for a whole class of seven year olds on a field trip. The man who sold me my ticket was very funny and nice, he told me where I could get the cheapest pop in Geneva, too! Then I got some lunch and went back to the room. I didn't do too much after that, but I found a very nice (and VERY cheap) clothing store across the street, H&M.
Livvi'i

Hi Everyone,

It sure has been a long long time since I visited this site. Lots has happened to you all and to me. I have been extremely busy with work lately. The last week of May I worked till 11:30pm almost every single night. I had been thinking about quiting for a long time because they work me too hard, yet I love my job and what I do. So, I started to look for a different job. It didnt take me long to find lots of title companies interested in hiring me. So, I have a new job working for a company called Signature Title. They pay me much more, it's a lot closer to home, it's in a brand new building and I am an a assistant to only one closer instead of two at Edina Realty. So, hopefully that will mean less work. They also promised me that I would never ever work past 7pm. So that will be heaven compared to my other job. My last day at Edina Realty is on Thursday June 19 and I start at Signature Title on the 23rd. I am excited, yet nervous at the same time. If you could keep me in your prayers, that would be a great comfort.

Pete and I are also approaching our 1 year anniversary. We are planning on staying at a bed and breakfast in Stillwater since I have never stayed at one before. It should be a fun time.

Glad to hear everyone is doing well. Take care.

It's Just One Harrowing Experience After Another
So we were on the bus to the international part of town and then suddenly the driver applied the brakes and we just barely didn't hit this womans car that was also applying the brakes and spun around and hit a fence. This old man in the back of the bus near us was lying on the floor, and we thought he was dead. They finally got him up and then he was standing and wasnt responding to anything that anyone was saying in French, English, German or Italian. So ....it turned out his hearing aids had been thrown across the bus and the driver almost threw them away. Then we got off as they were calling an ambulance. Well, that was it. Bonsoir! Livvi'i

Here's what Liv was writing about)

Thanks for the pictures of California. No sweatshirts needed in Geneva! Actually, we are quite sunburned after walking around all yesterday... again today it is sunny and will be in the high 80s.

Our biggest experience yesterday was the Jet d'eau, the 450' jet of water going up in the lake, seen in all pictures of Geneva. We were surprised to discover one could walk right out to it on a long pier and since we were very hot, we did so. The pier was narrow and made out of uneven rocks and once we got out to the end, gusts of wind drove sheets of water over us and we couldn't get back! There were other stranded people out there, hanging onto a metal fence. We finally made our way back, but it was scary and we were absolutely soaked. But we dried out quickly in the sun and wind. Afterwards, we said it probably SAVED our life, as we might have died of heatstroke otherwise.

California Dreaming....
A few pics:



Some Heroes!

Driving down the California Highway!

At Laguna Beach

One Magical Night at Disneyland

Hi from Liv and Teresa in Geneva. Our flights went fine, and we only went a little out of our way to find our hotel from the train station. Unlike California, it is hot and sunny here. The internet cafe (called "Internet Cafe"--catchy) is right across the street, but not as cheap or big as in London. Also, only has French keyboards.

Right now we're going to get lunch and visit some parks, including a skate park.

We're Baaaaa-ack!
Norris and I have returned - everything went smoothly, including the sun which went AWAY for a week. But we had a nice time at Disneyland, San Diego, Hollywood, and Laguna Beach. More reports to follow....

Our home away from home.

Bon voyage, Liv and Teresa!

Eat lots of chocolate and croissants!

Janelle :)

Norris and Joel have been in Anaheim almost a week and have seen the sun for ten minutes. It has also not hit 70. They went to San Diego one day and L.A. another day. Disney offered a five-days-for-the-price-of-two ticket, so they anticipated spending parts of several days in the two parks with plenty of time to lie around the pool at the Alpine Inn. Instead, they've been going on ride after ride and say they will be wearing the same sweatshirts on every picture.

Liv and I are leaving for Geneva tomorrow afternoon. My stint as a WHO "Temporary Advisor" is on Thursday, so we should have two days to sightsee on either side of that event. Hope we have better weather than the boys!