WE SURVIVED.

22 grade 9's. 2 plane rides. 2 nights in a tent. 2 nights in a "hut". 15 meals of rice. 7 meals sans meat. 17 "hope you can't see me" pees. 3 cups of tea. 1 jellyfish sting. 5 "it's cold outside" days. 4 "it's really cold outside" evenings. 50+ mosquito bites. 10-15 sunscreen applications. 1 serious talk about scorpions and vipers..................

Marsa Alam

Our "workplace" for the next week. Just me, Phil........and 22 niners. BAHA - wish us luck!

A Misleading Shot.

No, we didn't elope on the Nile Cruise! But that IS the "wedding" plan!

Any ideas?!

The Nile Cruise: Top Ten List

#10. Our guide "Mido's" Jheri Curl... Not only did it put to shame Michael Jackson's in the 80's, but it was also a major topic of complaint when Lindsay would slide the camera strap over his head to take a picture of us. "My hair!" he would yell, softly patting it back down frightened that a single strand could be out of place.

#9. "Sargeant Snowflake" somehow managing to sneak his way into the camera bag, and then after 4 days of being a no-show in photos, arriving for a beauty in front of Abo Simbel Temple. That polar bear is one sly dude!



#8. Me directing the group to take a sunset photo of the "YMCA" with Morgan being too drunk to direct his "C" in the right direction...



#7. Lindsay ordering a "Pina Colada" off of the drink menu only to find out that most of the drinks appear there with the hopes that you won't order them. Not only did they not have the right ingredients (we had to provide the pineapple juice), each time Lindsay would order one, they would have entirely different tastes and colours.

#6. The absolute worst belly dance show in the history of Egyptian culture. Not only did the woman lack in skill, she was what we call "unfit" and was unable to coax any members of the crowd onto the stage with her. You'd think someone would feel bad enough to go up there, but nope, not a soul until finally a weird looking French man took the plunge after being pushed on by his entourage. (Note: Lindsay refused to capture this moment on camera in fear that the dancer would be further encouraged.)

#5. Entering the cabin each afternoon to find that housekeeping had arranged our towels in the shapes of swans, and crocodiles. (Note: Lindsay's fear of birds continues to be out of control as displayed when she ran out of the room after seeing the swan shape.)



#4. Forcing a crowd of approximately 200 to wait "patiently" at the Sound and Light Show in Karnak Temple as we continuously wandered on our own to take photos and explore. We honestly had no idea that they would refuse to begin the final segment without each and every person sitting in their seats!



#3. Me performing Michael Schumaker type moves while holding the reigns of our horse carriage on the way to Edfu Temple.



#2. Having a great group of friends (Ann Marie, Sharon, Morgan and Lesley) with us to experience such a great trip!



#1. Knowing that Lindsay loves me enough to put up with my beautiful "stash" even though it would "ruin" amazing photo opportunities! Thx Babes!!! (Note: Movember can't come soon enough.)

Third Time's the Charm.

It took us a whole THREE ATTEMPTS and THREE MONTHS before we finally finished the movie, "The Proposal". It is not that the movie is boring or too long, it is simply because I am the worst person to view films with. Yes - I get sleepy as soon as the "play" button is pressed and my eyes can't seem to stay open.

We started The Proposal three months ago. In month one, Phil was introduced to the first fifteen minutes of the movie. I was introduced to the first two. In month two, Phil became familiar with the first twenty minutes of the movie. I became familiar with the first five. In month three, we scrapped the "dinner and a movie" idea and brought out the "breakfast and a movie" idea. Ah....much better. This morning we did it!

Great movie.

The Next Michael Buble?

Yesterday afternoon was a funny one. We arrived home from our dreadful "we only had three hours of sleep" school day and settled in to our usual after work routine. Phil took Oscar outside for a play-date and I unpacked my lunch bag and set up my computer.

And then I heard it. A SONG - coming from the garden.

"Oscar, I love you. You are such a good dog. Yes you are, yes you are......" YES - PHIL WAS SINGING OSCAR A LOVE SONG. I peeked my head outside and stood there while he continued to improvise a happy melody for his favourite buddy. Side by side they sat...until Oscar noticed my presence.

"Where are you going?" Phil sang as Oscar ran over to see me. And then, SHOCKED and EMBARASSED, he said, "Hun, how long have you been standing there?"

"ENOUGH" I replied with a smile.

Haha....there is still hope! I may be marrying the next Buble :)

Moustache Reel.

DISCLAIMER: Photos may be offensive to sensitive viewers.

A Portable Passion.

The itinerary for our Easter break trip included many extraordinary and exquisite venues - Karnak Temple, Valley of the Kings (and King Tut's tomb!), "Hot Chicken Soup" Temple, Edfu Temple, Kom Ombo Temple, Abo Simbel, the High Dam, Philae Temple, etc. It was a fine plan of activities with an equal balance of looking and lounging, however, a particular extracurricular was missing. Can you believe that holiday arts and crafts were not included in the program?! Ah, the joy of modifying your vacation to accomodate everyone's desire! Welcome to our VERY HAPPY EASTER on the Nile :)







P.S. Phil did NOT participate. Observe facial expression ABOVE. (Morgan - you ROCK!)

P.P.S. A big thank you goes out to the Carnivale for their support with this arts and crafts initiative. We were demanding at times, but really appreciate the 6 bowls, 4 hard-boiled eggs, stack of napkins, and post-clean-up you provided.

HAPPY EASTER!

Wishing you all a wonderful long weekend! We will be thinking of you whilst decorating hard-boiled eggs aboard the Nile Cruise!

Big hugs, moustachey-smiles, and across-the-ocean kisses,

Lindsay and Phil

The "Gag"atarian

You've heard of Vegetarians, you've probably heard of Vegans, and you may even know of a Pescetarian or two, but I may be the only person who lives with a "Gag"atarian!

Based on what I've been told, Lindsay has never been a true fan of meat. In fact, when we began dating we would have "Red-Meat" high fives each time she would devour the muscle or flesh of an animal. She began consuming more and more, and I thought that soon I would be able to convert her into a "Meat"atarian.

However, slowly she was finding every and any excuse to skip out of the meat portion of our dinners, and then it got to a point where she refused to even attempt a bite. "Does this mean that you're turning into a vegetarian?" I asked her. "No, I'm not a vegetarian, I just gag every time I think about eating meat," she replied. Confused, and searching for the correct response, I blurted out, "But you have to eat meat, there are things in meat you can't get from anything else!" (Even though I was fully aware this wasn't true, I thought it was worth a shot). Obviously I forgot that my fiancee was a Biology teacher, as she stormed off to find proof that she would survive without meat.

My "Gag"atarian has been meat free ever since which makes our dinners (either at home or at restaurants) quite interesting. At home, I consume all the meat that is cooked, and Lindsay loads up on the vegetables. When we're out, we both order and then begin picking at each others plates with me completely ignoring anything colourful on my plate, and Lindsay bypassing anything that used to make a noise.

Just one more reason we're a good team I guess!