We’re In The Candy Making Business! (aka Mara Starts Jetsetting)

n the fall of 2010, Mara got accepted to travel with People to People, student ambassador travel group. The organization was started by President Eisenhower after World War II as a way to increase the understanding between countries. And what better way to do it than starting with the younger generations?

Mara will be traveling to England and France (in an effort to keep up with her dad’s passport stamps) in June 2011. And she needs to raise part of her trip tuition. To that end, we’ve become business partners. (I’m sure she would cringe at that description!)

And so, she has been shoveling snow, making all natural dog treats, selling stuff on Half.com…and making candy.

I hadn’t been this happy to see Valentine’s Day be over in at least a decade (or two).

Except that we had developed a weekly pattern of taking candy to our favorite restaurant…and they (the servers mostly) started counting on that chocolate fix to get through the busy Saturday nights. So…off we went for St. Patrick’s molds.

In the meantime, Mara is completing all sorts of fun and educational things for the trip, including a research project on…the Catacombs of Paris. Ewwww….

A map in case you want to visit…
…or a view of the bones in case you can’t get there



She is excited and so are we…wanna buy some chocolate?

Jenn

Australia Here We Come…

Never ones to sit on our laurels, we decide to take our collective Peek family show on the road.  We’re also into very advanced planning so we’ve booked our plane tickets now for a trip to be taken over Christmas 2011.  Why Australia?  It’s SUMMER there when it’s winter here for starters…

We should be able to cover this in 3 weeks!

Mike says that his part is done…which is the plane tickets.  Now it’s my turn…

I’m not sure that’s really fair since he’s already been to Sydney (which took not one but two posts to cover – why not use that experience?  But, I’m starting our list anyway…

Bondi Beach…summer…’nuf said

And that’s just a start…I’m sure we’ll be packing all the adventure in we possibly can (including getting that driving thing down…)!

Jen

Flashback: A Virtual Trip to Ghana

We are fortunate enough to be able to give back. And we encourage our kids to think and act both locally as well as globally. It’s amazing when those two things intersect.

Mara and a group of her friends often do service projects in the local area. This has included volunteering at the local animal shelter, walking dogs at a senior living facility, making cards and cookies for those same residents, and doing yard work for Hillcrest Ministries.

In the fall of 2010, another opportunity presented itself. One that we all still talk about months later. Brad Gautney, President – Global Health Innovations, gave a presentation to Mara’s group on work that they do around the world. On this particular October afternoon, the kids learned about malaria and the Under the Net campaign (which is much like the Nothing but Nets campaign highlighted in Bill Gates’ 2011 annual letter).

Under a Net (untreated)

They also heard stories of orphans in Ghana that needed surgeries – surgeries that Brad and his team would perform. These are kids that have a much better life in an orphanage than in the slavery and child trafficking they lived in before. These are kids that have never seen a birthday or get well card – let alone received one addressed to them.

Brad has their undivided attention

Until now. Personalized get well cards plus donations of small toys and magazines for Brad to take on his November trip to Ghana. Small, yes. Meaningful, absolutely.

Jen

P.S. – Brad has an undeniable passion and devotion to improving the health around the globe one village at a time.  He has provided ongoing updates on Ghana and the impact that the kids’ work has had.  You can get involved here. 

Extended Playback…Love the Music!

As you may know (goodness knows exactly how), we are live music fans. Ok, Mike is the BIG live music fan. I’m coming along slowly – and I’m a little pickier. Still, we’ve been going to concerts and bordered on becoming groupies (according to co-workers) to one group in particular.

But that might be an afront to actual groupies, and I don’t want to offend anyone!

Starting in 2009, continuing into 2010 and already into 2011, we’ve had our share of concerts…here are the highlights:

Chickenfoot…they don’t think they are a supergroup…but heck, that’s what they are. Sammy Hagar (love him!), Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, Chad Smith…and man, can they rock! They did just that at the Uptown Theater in KC in August 2009…(Mike wanted me to use the pic with all the hot chicks but I am exercising my editorial prowess…it IS a family blog!)

Sammy and Joe…
and Chad (sorry, no shot of Michael…except with the chicks)

Cross Canadian Ragweed (this is an affiliate link to our favorite album of theirs) More memories here than we can almost count…it really got rolling in August 2009 at the MO State Fair and kept going right through 2010 when the band decided to come off the road. By virtue of them, I have uncovered (or rediscovered) a great love of Americana rock, and we both found a new band by way of the Cleveland concert in December 2009. Said new band was from…wait for it…southern Missouri. They are Ha Ha Tonka (new album in early April 2011!) and totally worth checking out.

Cleveland Rocks!
Ragweed…from the Cleveland House of Blues Balcony

In 2010, we saw CCR 4 times…in Lawrence at the Granada in February 2010, the Blue Note in Columbia, MO in mid-April, in Fayetteville, AR over Labor Day weekend at AMP (no, not the restaurant in Hawaii – the Arkansas Music Pavilion which is like a perma-tent with a kick butt stage and sound system in the parking lot of a mall – behind Dillard’s. Kids, you just can’t make this stuff up!) and finally in San Antonio, TX (really a little bitty town an 1 1/2 hours away) in mid-October at Ziegfest-Western Days. I could go on and on about how we thought about sleeping in the nursing home instead of driving the 1 1/2 hours back to our hotel…but nah.

At the Blue Note in Columbia for Ragweed…in a Chickenfoot shirt
AMP – you can’t really see the mall in this pic…
Cody Canada at Yorktown, TX Western Days…our last concert

Catching up to real time…A couple of the Ragweed guys have started a new band, The Departed. We checked them out in Lawrence in January 2011. They are coming along nicely, but they don’t hold the same place as Ragweed does in our hearts…yet.

Jen

Flashback: March 2010…Off to the MidEast!

With these flashback pieces – from nearly a year ago! – you are really going to start thinking that Mike is something of a world traveler. Heck, I’m thinking that too…

Late March took him to Bahrain and Dubai. One of the things that struck me was that I also have a friend who is a nurse participating in an international program. She is working at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – and traveling as much as possible. You ought to see her photo albums on Facebook…they are amazing!

Back to Mike…

Besides the amazing views from the Westin and driving around, Mike encountered a small issue in his hotel room. Like getting the lights to come on (yeah, this is one of the kids’ favorites!)…he could not find a light switch anywhere. So, after stumbling around the room for a bit, he used the light from the glare of his phone screen to find the phone and call the front desk. And…all the lights in the room are activated using the room key – there is a scanner just inside the door that “notifies” the room that you are there. Good to know…in case you go to Dubai.

View from Dubai Westin

Other things of interest? There are very few wheelchairs anywhere (Mike saw none – not even in the airport), and the people are AMAZINGLY gracious. They place a very high value on service and family (coming from their culture of being herders and sheperds…not oil sheiks), and they are just down right nice. Not so much what you see in the press, is it? And, of course…beautiful mosques…

The importance of family:  Display in a co-worker’s house
One of the mosques…beautifully lit at night

Unfortunately, Mike did not swim with the dolphins at the Atlantis hotel…I think that’s a good reason to go back – and take me! He did get a great picture of this unbelievable glass sculpture in the lobby…can you imagine what the rest of the hotel looks like?

Atlantis glass lobby sculpture…it’s HUGE!

And, in case you are wondering…the worst part of his trip?  Getting from Washington, D.C. to KC once he got BACK into the US.  A large thunderstorm moved through KC – causing a redirect to Omaha.  During that part of the flight, lightening hit the plane (no injuries and no engines out) – and the plane couldn’t come to KC.  So…Mike and some new friends took a car to KC.  It was either that or fly to Denver, Chicago or back to DC to get a different flight to KC.  Really?  Those are the choices?  The lines at the rental counter were rrrreeeeaaaalllly long…

Jenn

Flashback: September 2010…Straight to Sydney (Part II)

I’m baaaacccckkkkk with Part II of the Australian adventure!  Let’s just jump right in…

Sydney Opera House – who hasn’t seen pictures of one of the most famous pieces of architecture in the world? And who thinks that the new Kauffman Center in Kansas City looks quite a bit like it? This pic is one of Mike’s favorites…it’s of more than just the Opera House, but who needs more of just that? This one definitely scores more points!

The Opera House (and Sydney) at night


Sydney Harbor Bridge is the world’s largest (but not the longest) steel arch bridge with the top of the bridge standing 134 metres above the harbour. Construction started in 1924 and took 1,400 men eight years to build at a cost of £4.2 million. Six million hand driven rivets and 53,000 tonnes of steel were used in its construction. (I’m seeing a theme with how long it takes projects to get done in Australia…) But the BEST part about the is…Bridge Climbs! I seriously want to go! (You can get me a gift certificate here…)

Sydney Harbor Bridge…and a bird

Sorry to say that we didn’t a family pick in our souvenir T-shirts (yes, we all got one and no, they do NOT match) to round out this flashback…maybe next time!

~Jenn

P.S. – While I find it hard to believe this would happen, if you missed Part I, you can find it right before this one.  But I’m sure you already knew that!

Flashback: September 2010…Straight to Sydney (Part 1)

Probably because I’ve always wanted to go to Australia (and really I don’t know why but Mara feels the same way), this particular post about Mike’s trips to the various contentinents is actually going to be TWO different ones.  I know you are thrilled – so we might as well dive right in…

As if going to Lake Powell for a week isn’t enough fun, Mike heads directly from there (by way of Denver) to Sydney, Australia. Makes for interesting packing – oh and a visit to the MD to get some Ambien first. That jet lag can be a killer on productivity, especially on a 24-hour flight. Wimp. (See, it pays to be the one writing!)

Back to the update at hand…the trip was for work or the remainder of the Peek clan would have mutinied. Not that we’re the jealous types or anything. But, seriously, doesn’t everyone want to go to Australia?

Self-explanatory, right?

The one day Mike got to really tour the city – and to get some surfing in – didn’t have the best weather. Or at least not the best weather for surfing. Still, he did quite a bit of walking and we all got souvenirs! We almost never get souvenirs (unless you count foreign currency)! Maybe it was leftover effects of the Ambien…

Here are some the sights and highlights…

Hyde Park is Sydney’s central open green space and it was named after the Hyde Park in London, however, its origins are somewhat different. Originally the Park was a racecourse and sporting ground playing host to all manners of competition.

Aboriginal statue in Hyde Park which is just filled with this kind of stuff

St. Mary’s Cathedral sits on the east side of Hyde Park. It is one of Sydney’s oldest buildings. The first cathedral was ruined by fire in 1865 and reconstruction is completely finished 63 years later – 100 years after the architect’s death. Wow…that’s even longer than some of the highway projects around KC.

It looks small – it’s not.  No wonder it took so long to build!

Australia is known for its beaches: Bondi, Manley and Coogee being the ones closest to Sydney. So, no surfing for Mike really…but hey, he got to see some man o’ wars which brought back memories of Max in Hawaii (hee hee…that never gets old!).

Manly Beach…where is everybody?

So – that’s Australia, Part I.  I bet you can’t wait to see Part II!

~Jenn

Flashback: September 2010…Mike Does Lake Powell

One of the best things about the lifestyle we have as a family is that we do great things as a family – enjoying time together and making great memories. We also think it’s important that each member gets to enjoy their own things, too.

If you’ve been around a bit (and it doesn’t even have to be that long really), you’ll recognize one of the themes here is being outside, enjoying the sunshine and water (when it’s warm enough – not so much into the Polar Plunge even for a great cause). Water, boarding and sunshine…it all comes together for one last hurrah at Lake Powell for Mike in September.

Around mid-September (although sometimes later), Mike and a group of guys (including his brother, Tom) head out to this lake to “camp” on a GIANT houseboat with wakeboard boats in tow. Days of boarding, surfing (yes, surfing behind a boat), hanging out and eating guy food…in the sun and on the water. Mike calls it the most beautiful place he’s seen – at least in the continental U.S. That’s saying something ‘cuz he’s kinda picky. 

This could be Mike…or not

Geography lesson alert!  Lake Powell is 186 miles long with a shoreline longer than the whole western coast of the continental United States.  It’s part of Glen Canyon National Park – which will explain why 1) there is no development; 2) no cell phone service; and 3) the pics below.

Imagine how big it is if you’re really there…
….or here…

We love that he gets to do this – and that each of us has our own thing as well as what we get to do and see as a family. Now…we’re just trying to figure out if we can get the RV with the boat behind it out there next summer…where did I put that atlas?

~Jenn

Flashback: Late August 2010…Mike Does London

Mike loves rainy weather especially when it lasts for days and days, so he was thrilled to go to London. Or not. Having not been to London, I don’t really have an appreciation for that comment. Although I’ve heard Gwyneth Paltrow say the same thing in interviews so it must be true.

Fortunately, he took some awesome pictures and filled us in on the details of it all – without the rain. Given that my view and recent knowledge of London is based on audiobooks I’ve listened to with the kids (The Red Pyramid (affiliate link) and The 39 Clues: Maze of Bones (another affiliate link)), I had to do a little studying to be able to bring you decent highlights. I know how much you appreciate that!

I don’t know what I thought the London Eye was but I didn’t think it was a big freakin’ ferris wheel. That description doesn’t really do it justice, but that’s still what it looks like in the pictures. A well-positioned huge ferris wheel but…I’m just sayin’. Ok, you can see up to 40 km in all directions from it – not sure if that’s on a clear day or on a rainy one. It is the biggest paid attraction in London (open since 2000) and gets about 3.5 million visitors each year. I’m not sure what number Mike was in 2010…let’s call him visitor #2,330,432.

Mike’s comment on all of this? He was thrilled to figure out a way to get into the “express line” to go up in it…something to do with having bought a 4D ticket (yes, 4D) – I really should listen closer. And the view was incredible…even in the rain (which you can get a glimpse of in the picture. (For my part, I sorta felt that way being in the ferris wheel at the top of the City Museum in St. Louis but being in London seems more exotic.)

London Eye – before the ride…
…and during…dang, that could be 40km!

Of course, there were also the required pictures of the guys with the big fuzzy hats (beefeaters, right?),   Buckingham Palace, Westminster Palace and Big Ben (via webcam!). It’s nothing if not traditional – just like you’d expect. Too bad this was before the big engagement announcement…

I need a hat like that!



Westminister Palace and Big Ben…I think

 On a related note, Mara is really looking forward to her own trip to London in June 2011 with People to People. I’m sure there will be lots of pics from that trip – if she can keep track of a camera that whole trip…and it doesn’t get rained on.

~Jenn

Check Out Our Travel Interview!

A good friend of mine, Janis Jones, owns her own travel business (Venture Time Travel) and has a great travel blog to boot.  We are being featured in the “Traveler Chats” section – woo hoo!  You can check out the interview (with great family pics) here.

Plus, don’t forget to go back to the main page of the blog and check out the whole blog.  Janis and her husband, Jeff, have had some fabulous trips and offer a great point of view on their travels.  And, hey, it’s like taking your own little trip right from your living room, office, couch…

~Jenn