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 HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OF YOU

WE WISH ALL OF YOU BACK IN THE STATES OR ATLANTIC OR WHEREVER YOU MIGHT BE A WONDERFUL HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!!!

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 HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD !!!!!

WE WISH YOU ALL THE BEST AND ENJOY THE LAST OF YOUR CRUISE DAYS !!! LOVE,THE PARADISES III

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 JEALOUS!!

WOW!
That all sounds like such fun!
That settles it - I'm just going to have to win the Texas Lotto or something - because I just gotta do all that stuff!!

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 Beer!? oh my goodness...

What has gotten into you, Pat!?! Geez, send them off on a cruise and look what happens! Christie is right. No babies yet. I went to the dr. yesterday and he says about anytime really. I am 34 weeks now and at this point they probably won't stop labor. I had to do the stress test yesterday and everything is fine. I have to go every Monday now. I am having another ultrasound next week and if the babies haven't turned he says we'll talk about scheduling a c-section. Fine with me! I'll be here on Monday when you get back -- unless I go into labor over Thanksgiving...hopefully not. The campaign kid is in custody. They got him back here with the help of his friend who he convinced they were going to CA to be 'extras" in a movie...good grief! They caught him with more blank checks he was apperently going to use out there. Well, that's about it for updates. Nothing too excting!

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 Way ahead of you...

I've been chatting with Sarah all day...she's doing fine. No babies yet, just getting caught up with work. Darn work just won't go away. And I don't know what you are talking about Mom's desk. It's still there as far as I know. I can't imagine why they would do anything to it. :-) Now, what's this about beer? Since when does Mom drink beer? What happened to the margharitas?

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 FOUND ONE!! A COMPUTER THAT IS!!

Just a short note to let everyone know we are alive. Jchon, as for cruises, but for the fact we are not enjoying this one with one or more of the kids, it is without a doubt the best of the best cruises. In the past few days we have crossed the Atlantic, traveled a short way up the Amazon, visited Devil's Island (The former French penal colony.) and are now in Barbados. Spent the entire day on a Catamaran sailing up the coast of the island, snorkeling with sea turtles, a great lunch of island specialties and then snorkeling at a reef and sunken ship. More of all that later. Just let it be known that I had nothing but 7-Up all day. It was mom that had the two beers and two rum punches. YOU READ IT HERE, mom was guzzling beer. Christie, see how Sarah is please and call Donna at the office and ask what they have done to mom's desk. Love to All, Mom and Dad

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 I don't know about you...

but I'm getting a picture of mom and dad huddled over an ancient computer in the middle of a tiny little village of straw huts! Dad, I'm very impressed! Jchon, I'm guessing you guys just got back from Tae Kwon Do or something equally strenuous...and I'll sympathize with you...I think the aerobics instructor was trying to kill us last night. Or maybe trying to prepare everyone for the holiday next week or something! Mom and Dad, I hope you are enjoying the trans-Atlantic crossing. Looking forward to hearing more about your African adventure! :)

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 I'm Quite Sore (Ouch - It Hurts To Type ;o)

OK - So it doesn't hurt to type - but the rest of me really is pretty sore ;o)
I'm glad to hear (read) that you're well rested, dad! I hope you're enjoying the cruise as much as or more than any previous cruise you've been on!
From your description - I'm AMAZED that you found an internet connection anywhere! That's crazy!

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 Just a VERY Brief Update

We have been without Internet access for three days now. Thus, no messages. However, I have been keeping a paper journal and will update everything when we get access on the ship again.

We are currently in Sao Vicente, an African republic off the coast, near the equator. To understand how unbelieveable it is that we are able to get this off you would have to be here. 1/3 of the population is unemployed and standing or sitting on the street, 1/3 of the population are students, the remainder are taxi drivers.

Half of the houses are boarded up, the typical business is a stall perhaps 6 feet x 6 feet. Many street merchants.

So to find a computer much less an Internet connection was pure luck. So for now we will sign off. Once we have our own connection on the ship we will give a complete update.

Love, Dad, Mom, Frank, Pat, whoever the heck you think we are.

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 Still wondering...

Much better...accidentally hit the enter key a second ago and next thing I knew my message was being sent off to cyberspace. Hmmmphh...how rude was that! But the real question is, where did Mom and Dad wander off to? Maybe the canaries got them? <> Well, that's it over here. Nothing interesting to tell, not even convaluted black belt stories (which is truly odd, BTW). So, off to work again. Lunch hour is over.

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 Where did they go?

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 just wanna say hi

Hi Mom and Dad,Jchon told me a couple of days ago that you guys have a board as well.So here I`m.Oh,Mom it`s official now.I started my new thing ;)I`ll let you know about my website when You guys get back lol.I hope Dad is feeling better soon so he gets to have some fun on your trip as well.Maybe one day I can experience a cruise myself ;) Love you all

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 Where Are You?

Where'd everybody go?
Well - since you won't fill us in on what you're doing -

Yesterday, Dawn and I started back into Tae Kwon Do - only this time w/ Phil & Margaret!
Unfortunately (well, not really unfortunate, I guess), this is a totally different "kind" of Tae Kwon Do - so with the exception of the basic kicks and punches - Dawn and I will be pretty much starting from scratch. And although we'll start with learning the Black Belt "stuff" - we'll also have to go back and learn this school's White belt and up stuff. . . plus, his belt structure is kind of odd. Although Dawn and I earned our 1st Degree Black Belt in Arlington - in his class - we're actually "probationary black belts" which is the first of 3 levels for 1st degree black belt - whatever. We'll get new belts for his class - black one's with a white stripe running down the middle.
But it's all good - we're just in it for the exercise at this point.

So we had a good workout last night and will continue to try this place out.

Other than that - nothing much else going on out here!

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 just stuff...

Well, in campaign news Jeremy has been caught. The secret service picked him up in Los Angeles. He said he had to flee because "someone was making threats" on his life. Anyhow, we hear he will not fight extradition, but we also heard he was going to turn himself in last week, so you just never know! The office is very quiet today, strange for a very gray, rainy Monday, but that's OK. In baby news, they aren't here yet. Although, they did "drop" this weekend, so I have a feeling it won't be long. Hope you are back by then because I am too exhausted to try to stop them if they start coming! :) That's all for now! Glad to see you are having fun! I can't wait to hear more about it!

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 Not one really...

Hope you guys are enjoying your time at sea. Mom, did you see any of those statue guys this time? Dad, you are right, OU had some issues this game...5 sacks! Yikes! On the other hand, it keeps their heads deflated and in the game. So, next week should be a better game. At least this week we aren't being accused of running up the score...that's falling on Kansas State. Some interesting things going on politics wise over there. I'll have to see how they turn out. Well, it's safe to move now, the vacuum has been defeated...I'll be off now. Talk to you guys again soon.

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 Just Another Update

Well, today is starting out much better than yesterday. I stayed in bed the entire day not moving my right arm at all and making sure I didn't stretch that muscle thingy just above the waist and below the arm. It did a world of good, although I think Mom put a bunch of pills in me I didn't know about.

Today it is much rested and since we are at sea all day I should have more relaxation to help it along again.

Mom got out a little bit in Barcelona yesterday. Remembered the street where we stayed the last time here and bought a few things while she was out. I know she was reluctant to go out on her own but I finally convinced her it was a good thing to do.

Last night was one of three formal nights. I stayed in again. Mom was nice enough to being me food from the dining room as food from room service is very limited. Mike, one of our tablemates from the Sacramento area, was also under the weather so at least I wasn't the only hole at the table. I was a little put out that mom was cavorting around with the Captain again, although this time there is a photo to confirm it.

I was up quite early this morning. Around 4 our time. I had to see the OU score, so up to the computers I came. Glad they won. Sounds like they were a little out of step. Better this week than next. I noticed that Tech lonly lost to Texas by 3 points, so they will have it in their heads that they can beat OU.

We just now passed the Rock of Gibralter. As I have said before, the history of these places amaze me. Apparently the Phoenecians were here around 1100 BCE. I cannot even phathom it. We got a photo of mom in the foreground and one of me as well. the rock itself is lovely, with Portugal on one side and the African state of Tunisia on the other. We are at open sea the remainder of today, arriving tomorrow at the canary Islands.

Just a note on politics and such around here. Two big deals taking up all the press (excluding rather extensive coverage of the US). In France there is to be a referandum to exclude all religious paraphanalia from schools. While this would include students wearing crosses among other things, the target is Muslim girls wearing their traditional scarves. They will then be faced with the choice of not wearing them and attending traditional schools or wearing them and attending private schools.

The second is a referandum being voted on today in the Spanish Province that includes Barcelona. Apparently this portion of Spain has a distinct heritage and language that differs from the remainder of Spain. The language is Catalan and is unique to this region. The vote, expected to pass by a large margin, will require all businesses to converse only in Catalan, signs to be written in the same way, and immigrants can be taught Catalan at State expense, but will have to pay if they choose to learn Spanish.

Okay, end of my short update as my card is running out. Miss each and every one of you.

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 Hey!

It erased my last smiley! How rude! There was a smiley at the end of that last sentence...where did it go? Oh where is my smiley? Oh where is my smiley? Oh where oh where oh where oh where ohhhh whhhhheerrreee......is my smiley?

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 Everything has turned red & white overnight...

Going all out for the "big" game today! Go Sooners! (I don't know how Jchon gets the little smiley here) Anyway, Dad I sent you an e-mail with a little detailish information on Michelle...but the short form is that they are here, no problems on the way except that apparently small children don't like to be cooped up in cars for many hours. Who knew? ;-) If I can get ahold of them, I'll see them today when I go up to see Grandma. Glad you guys are having a good time...even if you did consider going to a McDs in France. :-0 Well, I'd better get going. I want to make it up to Edmond and back before the start of the game...Yuck! Game day traffic again! The things I sacrifice for family.

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 Oops

OK - in case anyone is feeling picky - yes, I know that "cruise tend to lose their fun", not "loose their fun".

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 Too Bad :o(

Too bad about the pictures. . . maybe when you're on shore.
I assume Michelle and Anthony are at the house now (Michelle called me the night before last trying to find out where the key was :o).
I sure hope dad's feeling better - cruises tend to loose their fun when you can't walk :o).
Phil, Margaret, Dawn and I went to a silent auction last night at our church. We actually donated a few items for it as well. . .
Dawn donated one of her baby sets (blanket, bib, cloth & hats) - it ended up selling for $15
I donated one of my noteholder - it ended up selling for $25
And IIS donated a website design, layout and construction (basic - not the detailed content, nor the registrations or anything - just design and code) - it ended up selling for $35.
So - not too bad for charity.
Dawn and I put bids in on a couple things - but didn't win anything.
Margaret won a signed picture of Kay Bailey Hutchison (as well as a signed book on the constitution - like the one mom gave us from Istook). She also won a couples devotional book.
Phil, although he bid on a few things - ended up winning one thing. He won a month of Tae Kwon Do instruction at a local karate place - I didn't even know there were any instructors in our church! He also gets a free uniform with the deal - so. . . it looks like Dawn and I will be getting back in the Karate thing - WHOO HOO!!

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 not much!

dad pretty much takes care of details, so I will just fill in and ask questions! are Michelle and antonthy home? tell them to log on and get in touch with us! sarah...how does kyle feel about Mr. embezzelment getting away? and do we know where in ca he is headed? and hang on to those babies!! dad is resting in our cabin at the moment. His back is really bothering him and he doesn't think he can walk alot right now. He is hoping we can get out for an hour or so before the ship leaves. we head to the canary islands tomorrow. It is still sort of rainy-foggy. I imagine that will change when we hit the islands. say hello to everyone for us and I will write more later!

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 Photos

Sorry but there will be no photos posted while we are on the ship. Once we have some time in a town we will see if we can upload them from there. The floppy drive is blocked off here so out go those intentions.

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 Updates!

Well, it's been a slow Friday. Not too much going on. I had to call Aron in this afternoon because everyone else is doing the FAA thing. We had one of our former interns stop by to say HI and I couldn't remember his name... I know his last name is Reedy, but he was one of our better ones...he is going to stop by again because he asked where you were Pat. In other news, the campaign kid was supposed to turn himself in today. He was interviewed on channel 5 again last night and said he was innocent and could prove it by emails between EJI and someone else. He said he was waiting to turn himself in until he got and attorney. Channel 5 said he now had one and was going to do that, but we just now found out he high-tailed to California. The actions of an innocent man? I hardly think so! Anyhow, he'll be in more trouble now, I dare say! Nothing else terribly interesting going on. It sounds like you guys are having a lot of fun and I am so glad! You deserve it! We'll talk to you later!

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 Oh - Come On. . .

You're in France - and NO McDonald's ??? Geez ;o)

Dad - if you just post the pictures to the website (ftp://www.thepar. . . ,etc.) I'll resize them for you and then you can post them with comments, or whatever - OK?

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 Nice was nice

That's not fair . . . I had been intending on using the Nice/nice thingy and then Jchon goes ahead and uses it first . . . (unsmiley face)

This afternoon was great. A lot of walking . . . went up to the site of the old castle . . . Europe continues to amaze me. The original castle was built around 300 BCE and remained until the Spanish occupation in 1700 during which all the military fortresses were dismantled by the Spaniards. When was the last time you saw anything built in the United States that had any chance of lasting 2000 years? My point exactly . . .

You remember that Big Gulp I had been dying for? Well, I must not have been dying enough. We found a McDonalds in Nice, a Big Mac, fry and coke was $10 . . . I have yet to be anywhere hear that thirsty.

Well, we are on our way to Barcelona. As for photos, we took two more today. I really do think we are getting carried away. Actually we would have only taken one but on the way back to the ship I saw something I couldn't miss out on . . . as for posting . . . I forgot the disk this time . . . but I am worried about the file size since I have no way of editing them. We'll see how that works tomorrow. Ta Ta for now . . .heading off to check the Survivor website and see if I have won the Explorer yet . . .

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 I Made OU Smilies For Christie :o)

Now she can impress all her friends - hee hee hee.
Go Sooners, indeed!
Sorry that you missed getting off in Genoa - but Nice will be nice (hah - I love using that one :o)
Actually, Nice was one of our favorite memories - probably because we did nothing but read books on the beach - but it's still neat thinking that you'll be walking where we walked, and seeing the same sites that we saw - speaking of which - dad, I remembered who was buried in that monastary graveyard - Henri Matisse, the painter. I do believe it was the Monastere Notre Dame de Cimiez - and unless they've changed it - you'll keep following the the signs pointing to Matisse's burial site - and you keep following them - and you'll keep following them - and then never find it!

Did you get my emails about uploading the pics?

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 Missed It

Well, mom took some of my meds last night and it knocked her out so that we missed getting off to see Genoa. It was a very short stop anyway so we didn't miss much. We did see many, many highrises and the drivers were clearly more friendly. I am still agast at those in Naples. It is just beyond explanation.

We just loaded 550 German nationals so the days of wine and roses onboard are over. We have really been spoiled over the past four days as we had a full crew servicing 1/4 load of passengers.

I am already biting my tongue what with the comments about Iraq and such this morning but somehow I will survive.

The average age before today's additions was probably 10-15 years older than we are. That changed today as the ages of the new groups are probably the same as ours or perhaps even a little younger. The one thing we predicted and were correct on is that virtually all of the passengers are seasoned cruisers. Many have taken more than one cruise on this line. The reviews of the ship were way off though. We have not found any of the complaints about noise or lack of stability to be true but the service has been everything we expected. The Captain is personable and is seen frequently moving among the passengers.

We will be in Nice this afternoon and will resume our hunt for a Big Gulp.

Jchon, I am not ignoring your question about marketing, I just have to think about it.

Oh . . . and lest I forget . . . GO SOONERS!!!!

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 I May Be In Denton - But My Brain Is Somewhere Els

OK dad -
I just sent you your email explaining the whole picture upload process. . .
however - you'll need all three emails that I sent to you, as after the first one - I realized I messed up part of the code - then after sending that one - I realized that I forgot to give you the username & password to upload the pics!
So. . . I won't be surprised if I get a response from you stating that I forgot something else!!
Love you!

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 What's So Confusing?

There's nothing to understand about the email - just go to the link - put in your email address (frank@theparadisefamily.net) and your password (you know which one it is), and you get your email on your screen - it's all web-based (it's hosted by the same company that hosts our site and email accounts). However, if you can access your flash.net email from where you're at - then there's no need - I just never got a confirmation that you could do so. :o)
I'll have to ponder the Albert Schweitzer quote tomorrow when I'm not so tired ;o).
I hope you didn't expect anything less from the drivers in Naples :o). They were that insane when Dawn and I were there 8 years ago - and I'm certain they'll be that insane forever! :o)
So tell us more about the conversation with the little Italian boy - that's so neat!
I would write more - but I keep imagining mom getting sloshed with the captian - and I need to go burn that image out of my head.

Oh - as for the uploading of picures - I'll email you directions (to both the flash.net & theparadisefamily.net email addresses, since at this point, I'm confused as to which you'll be accessing ;o).

Love you!!!!!!!!!

Ok - I remembered one more thing -
Dad - do you have any good ideas for getting the best "bang for the buck" when it comes to marketing and getting our name out there to the small businesses in the area? At this point - what customers we do have is from us going door-to-door in the business districts. Obviously, the big thing is to keep the costs down. We're doing a cost/benefit analysis right now to see whether it's more cost effective to outsource in regards to mailings (pamphlets/brochures) or to take care of it all ourselves.
Whatya think?

Have fun!!! (and mom - don't get too friendly with the captian!!! ;o)

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 Catchin' Up

Well, Mom and I just got back from drinking and dancing . . .actually I couldn't get mom off her seat and onto the dance floor . . . she was TOTALLY THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND!!! I think it was because she had a designated driver, but that's kinda scary since he was matching up drink to drink with her. But the captain did say that even though he has only been on the ship 2 weeks and drank a lot with mom, he will still be able to get close to where we are supposed to be, . .

Here's a heavy one for you . . . I read a quote from Albert Schweitzer that I fell in love with. First of all he was an M.D., PhD, and many more degrees from life experience. He was a well written man when I was growing up. Spent the majority of his time doing medical work in the deepest jungles of Africa. Anyway,I will paraphrase here since I don't remember each word:

when man forgets his mere existence and realizes that life is unfathomable, then thought begins . . ."

Lots of spelling erros but you get the gist of it. So think about it and see what you think about it and how you address it, if at all.

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 Today and more

Okay . . . I'm not sure I really want to hear anything about things that can't be posted to the board but if you must . . . I don't understand how to access the frank@ without an email client so I will give everyone an email address that I do know how to access:

fparadise@flash.net

That I know how to access so please use it.

Now . . . on to what has happened . . . we were warned about the drivers in Naples . . . there are no words, no matter how elequent, that can prepare you for the drivers in Naples . . . we took a taxi to the archeological museum . . . from our experience we formulated some questions for their driver's exams here . . .

1. How many cars across can you put on a two lane street

a. two

b. three

c. five

d. all of the above.

The answer was clearly all of the above and that was before using both sidewalks . . .

2. How many inches between cars do you require to permit a motor scooter to pass

a. 18 inches

b. 15 inches

c. 12 inches

d. 3 inches

This is a trick question . . . there is no answer lower than 3 inches . . .

anyway, you sort of get the point . . . but I again say, there are no words that adequately describe the experience . . . so I will stop trying.

As for the museum, mom was quite accurate. I think there were a total of 4 photos taken, all with one or the other of us in them.

The museum was okay, lots of statues and stuff . . . actually I was quite disappointed. At that point the neatest thing to happen was a darling little Italian boy who walked up to us and asked if we spoke English (I guess we just looked like we did.) Needless to say I told him we did and he procededed to introduce us to all his classmates, his older sister, his younger brother, his best friend . . . you get it . . . and his English was flawless . . . really cute and a pleasure to have chatted with.

In any case, as we were walking out the door mom saw a hallway we had not gone through, and since it was raining outside anyway we took a stroll . . . WOW!!

Here were all the rooms I had read about . . . frescos and mosiacs taken from the excavations at Pompei and Herculeneum . . . beautiful!! They gave a real insight into what people of the time decorated their homes and buildings with. Perhaps the most overwhelming was a 6 meter x 3 meter mosaic of Alexander the Great defeating the King of Persia . . . the detail was unreal . . . and you figure out how much time it took to complete . . . I have no idea but there are over 1,000,000 ceramic "bits" comprise the work . . . some were so tiny as to question how small his hands must have been to even put them in . . . truly magnificent . . .

The rest of day was without incident. I rested and mom roamed until dinner . . . food was okay tonight . . . sure hope to find somewhere to get a 16 ounce Rib Eye though . . . actually I have been dying for a 44 ounce big gulp all day . . . but that is another story . . .

actually I had not even worried about William, and that is the honest to goodness truth . . . I hope everyone is doing well, but I am just going to relax and know that no matter what happens there is nothing I can do about it and I have more than enough children eminently qualified to handle whatever might come up . . .

BUT!!! Someone fill us in on Michelle . . . needless to say if they want they can stay at the house, just clean up William's room and everything is fine . . . I think the bunk-bed pieces are all up in the office now if they want to set that up . . .

Well . . . I have to go now . . . want to leave some time to check the Internet for more information on how close a game OU will have this weekend . . . Last I heard OU was 1st in the country in offense and defense and Baylor was 113 of 117 in one and 103 of 117 in the other . . . oh yeah . . . and their offense hasn't scored a touchdown in 3 games . . . and . . . yes this is an actual statement from the Baylor coach . . . he is probably going to start all underclassmen including a true freshman quaterback to "give them some 'real' experience against a good team . . ." Is this guy for real? We are going to have to send the cheerleaders in to play in the second quarter and Stoops will still get acused of running up the score . . .

Well, mom says we are going to go drinking and dancing so I better sign off . . .

QUIT LAUGHING . . . Jchon . . . anyway to upload the fedw pictures we have taken?

Later . . .

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 Requested updates...

Let's see...no babies yet and Sarah is going to update you on the whole nutcase issue, and as far as I know, no one in the office has been arrested either! :-) I think I'll believe that you only took a few pictures when I see the end results! You have a tendancy to fib about things like that. ;-) Jchon says he is going to set up an e-mail you can check from there, so I'll give you more details when all of that is set up, but I want to put your mind at ease about the whole lonely hiking boot issue. Rest assured that as of tonight or tomorrow it will have some company in the form of Leo & Tony (Along with Michelle and Anthony of course), as they are moving back to Oklahoma and should be here sometime this evening. Well, in the time I've finished typing this, Jchon has your e-mail thingy set up and Sarah has posted...I'm getting slow! Mom, you finally found a way to get someone else to do those clips! :-D Maybe if you don't say anything when you get back they will just never re-appear at your desk?

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 E-mail

OK - I didn't think you did. . .
There may be some information that we want to pass along to you during your trip that shouldn't be posted on this message board - so use this link to check your "frank@theparadisefamily.net" or "pat@theparadisefamily.net" emails:

http://webmail.hostsave.com

It will open up a new browser window so this one won't go away - if that's a problem for the computer you're on (which was the fact on some of the computers I encountered over there), then just copy and paste the link into your browser.
Once that page comes up, just fill in the form as follows:

Email Address:frank@theparadisefamily.net

Let me know how it goes! ;o)
We love you and look forward to more posts! (even if you don't miss us! ;o)

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 Lonely w/o you :(

Well, I am glad to hear you all got off so well! I miss you here at the office, but it's been OK. Donna and Aron are out for the rest of the week, so that leaves yours truly to do clips (grrr!). It's really been pretty quiet though. I got pretty frustrated yesterday and I had to vent to poor Christie...i'll have to email you about -- not going to air my dirty laundry on the board -- office related anyhow. No babies yet, but something tells me it's not gonna be too long. I am really going to try to hold out until you get back, promise, but I have been feeling a little different lately and I think it's my body getting ready to get these girls OUT! :) We got all moved, and we returned the trailer! Thanks for letting us borrow it, it was a HUGE help. Still having plumbing problems. Hope to get that all resolved today...what a mess! oh well, it's always something! No arrest on the campaign kid yet. Something about waiting on paperwork from south carolina or wherever he was at before, so they could add those to the charges and make sure he is tried as an adult, which they think he will be anyway because he was 'emancipated' from his mother a while back. So, anyhow..that's about all the news. I guess i'll go finish the clips now and I'll talk to you later! Have fun and eat something good for me! Sarah

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 just a quick note

so glad all is well at home(well except the lonely hiking boot...maybe scampi will keep it company!) we were in Naples today and spent the morning in the National Museum! wonderful! took a few pictures! really...just a few, I promise. (not caps as this keyboard is really funky and it takes too much time for it to know you want a capitol. dad is napping and I am ready to go to tea. I have not heard anything from the office. christie, you are in charge of finding out if everyone is ok! babies born? anyone arrested?...not in the office silly,our campaign nut! I am going to go..people waiting to use the apparently only usable computer out of three. No Jchon (yea! capitols!)we do not have any email address that we can check from here that I know of. I should say I am missing you all...and is some way I am....:)but.... Off to tea! Love, Mom

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 Yeah for Internet Access!

Sounds like you guys are off to an interesting start. :) Not that you are worrying, I'm sure, but the hoses are disconnected dad...I checked on everything at the house and all is good. Well, the lone hiking boot left home was sort of depressed that it didn't get to go anywhere, but that's to be expected. Jchon, I think you guys were spoiled....TVs in all the headrests...hmmmpphhh...I flew all the way to Russia and back with no TV at all, let alone individual movie screens! Mom and Dad, glad you guys are having fun (and I'm thinking maybe Mom's office sent the complaining obnoxious lady just so Mom doesn't forget how to deal with crazy people).

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 The Information Age Wins Again!!

Whoo hoo!!!
OK - First - you didn't answer my e-mail question. . . do you have any e-mail account that you can check from over there? ( In case you're avoiding the question thinking that we have bad news about William - at least at this point - we don't ;o)
And Second - Whoo hoo again! ;o)

So . . . should we be expecting a postcard from your hiking-boot-on-holiday? hee hee hee
Did they at least have the movie screens on the back of all the headrests on the plane to Athens? I can't imagine our trips there and back without them!
I'm sorry to hear you didn't get to go all the way up Mt. Etna :o( - next time ;o). And, I hope the OBNOXIOUS lady isn't on your cruise (and therefore has the chance of being on more of your excursions)!
I'm so happy that we'll get to hear from you while on the trip!

WHOO HOO! :o)

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 So Far

Well, here we are and we have access.

First to the very most important thing- - - I got ALL my stuff into one suitcase . . . but therein lies the proplem . . . it was almost 20 pounds overweight . . . . so . . . into another suitcase the excess went.

As for my check-list . . . all went well . . . forgot the sunscreen and one of my hiking boots took a vacation of its own. As for mom . . . she really didn't have a check-list so it's not fair to compare . . .

Off to the airport and things were fine . . . there was a slight mess-up with our wake-up time . . . but no stress . . . REALLY! Check-in was a snap. By the time I got the car parked mom already had the bags checked-in and on their way . . . from there it was just wait for the plane . . . I should have waited for the next one . . . It was TINY!!! No overheads . . . had to plane check the carry-ons . . . two seats on each side of the plane . . . well . . . it was really one seat . . . they just put two people into it . . . trip from Cincinatti to New York was okay. Not too much of a squeeze there . . . BUT then came the plane to Athens . . . I would have been better off being packed in a suitcase and stowed in the hold . . . 9 hours of pure H@@L . . . there were three seats each side and three in the middle . . . we got two of the three middle . . . mom center me on the end . . . NO SLEEP . . . . I was a bumper-guard for everyone and everything coming and going down the aisle . . . by the time we hit Athens we were both exhausted . . . easy pick-up at the airport . . . about an hour, maybe an hour-and-a-half to Pireaus . . . the port from wence we were to leave . . .

Well, onto the ship and time for a nap . . . very nice, small ship . . . rooms are small but fine for us . . . much smoother than we had been led to believe . . . well, mom went out as we left port and I stayed in bed . . . By the time mom got back it was time for dinner . . . we got first seating . . . as requested . . . and the dining room was almost EMPTY . . . it seems we are picking up some Italian guests in Napoli and then a LARGE German group in Nice . . . oh well, you can't win them all.

Meals will be hard to get used to . . . really hard for a meat and potatos kind of guy like I am . . . mom and I ate fish . . . she was happy . . . I will choose something different this time . . . Most meals have spices we are not used to . . . missed breakfast which I had been looking forward to . . . overslept . . . got to lunch . . . that was pretty much a mistake too . . . then we headed out for our first excursion . . . up to the top of Mr. Etna . . . well, that is where we were supposed to go, all the way to the top no less. . . well, actually much less . . . we were totally fogged in at 2000 meters . . . got a couple of good photos of each of us in the soup . . . then turnedc aroung and headed back . . . WITH ON OBNOXIOUS, NOISY, OBNOXIOUS (Did I say that already) OBNOXIOUS passenger who wanted her money back . . . was going to complain to everyone under the sun . . . and did . . . especially those of us on the bus with her . . . anyway . . . stopped in Catania . . . she was mad because they wouldn't let her off at a better place . . . anyway . . . we were in town for an hour . . . went into a Basilica . . . TOO WEIRD . . . Belinni was buried there . . . but they also had two of their Cardinals buried there . . . one covered with a bronze sarcofigas (sp?) and the other mumified with a bronze mask on, but his mummified hands folded over his chest . . . like I said . . . TOO WEIRD . . . okay, they are calling us for dinner . . . the ship is REALLY rolling and pitching . . . mom got some dramamine . . . Well . . . off to eat . . . I'm going to make up my own menu tonight . . . we'll see how that goes . . . SARAH!!!! Pat saYS WRITE . . . SOON . . . OR YOU ARE IN TROUBLE . . . for now . . . 7:30 pm, Wednesday . . . on our way to Genoa . . .

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 E-mail

Hey Mom & Dad! You're in the air over New York right now :o)
If you're able to get online to check this board (which hopefully you will) - do you have an email account that you can check from any computer that's online (ie - hotmail, yahoo, etc)?
If not - let me know - I have a web address from which you can check your frank@TheParadiseFamily.net or pat@theparadisefamily.net email accounts. There may some info that needs to be exchanged that shouldn't be on this board ;o).
We love you - have FUN!!!

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 We Love You!!

You guys don't even leave until tomorrow morning and I already miss you!!
Be safe - Have fun - and stop at all the internet cafe's you can find so we can hear about all the neat stuff you're doing!!
We love you!!

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 This Really Isn't Fair

Okay, now I said I would limit myself to one suitcase and a carryone this trip. Mom laughed. Actually I am guessing everyone who knows me laughed. BUT, while I will be able to put MY stuff into my previously stated 2 bags, MOM is TRYING to fill my suitcase will HER stuff!!@@!!

Anyway, as I take the things she put into my suitecase out of the suitcase and under the bed so she doesn't notice, I will make my goal. :-))

Beyond that, thank you all for the good wishes and know that I have no intention of thinking about anything but open sea and new, interesting places and things.

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 Almost Time!

Whoo Hoo! It's Friiday and you leave on Monday! How exciting!!!
Mom says the suitcases are unzipped - but that's it! I'd be packed and sitting by the door, waiting for Monday to arrive! ;o)
(and just as a side-note, I'm making this post from the livingroom on my new iPaq PocketPC - hee hee hee :o)

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 The List

And that deserves capital letters....that's quite a list! And although I didn't read it all either, I'm more impressed that you actually typed it on to the message board than the fact that you have that long of a list! Yikes!!

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 I Didn't Know Dad Knew HTML!

Your Ebay-ing must be paying off, or something! You're the only one (besides me) to have used HTML to format their posts!
I can't tell you guys how excited I (we) are for you!! But I have to admit - because of dad's warning that some of the "list" may be a little risque - I only scanned it, so as to not see any of details I didn't want to see ;o).

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 MY list

I am not at home to copy exactly... clothes shoes medicine cross stitch passport books I left all the detail work to my better half...:)Of course, he will have carry ALL his luggage from the bus to the security site...I will not be huffing and puffing with my two little suitcases...hehehe...

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 The List

Okay. Now, I don't see what the point of this is, but someone (or some two or more) think my packing list is fair game. So here goes, although I think some of it may be too risque for some of you:

• Transfer Edmond Sun
• Stop Daily Oklahoman
• Put a hold on mail
• Notify Nielsen no TV for 3 weeks
• Reading Glasses
• Passport
• Safety Neck Packs
• Copies of Passport/Driver's License/All Credit Cards/Cancellation Phone Numbers
• Cell Phone and Charger
• Hair Clippers with #2 and Buzz guide
• Nail Clippers
• Ear Plugs
• Eye Shades
• Gold Bond Powder
• Pills and Pill Box
• Sun Hat
• Sun Screen
• Camera/Disks/Charger
• Hiking Boots
• Shampoo & Hair Medicine
• 6 Razors
• Shaving Cream
• Writing Journals
• Lots of Pens
• Gold Bond Powder (Obviously I thought this was very important)
• Hiking Boots (Okay, so I forgot they were about 6 lines above)
• Q-Tips (Be happy, I didn't specify how many)
• Imodium AD (This was based upon what someone we talked to said, we've never needed it before)
• Hair Shampoo & Medicine (You would think I could check the rest of the list first)
• 2 Deodorant
• 2 Bar Soap
• Gallon Size Plastic Baggies
• Yellow Fever Cards
• Malaria Medicine (You'd think we were going up the Amazon or something . . . Oh Yea! We are.)
• Pill Box (Don't go there!)
• /Dramamine (This is because of the speed of the ship. Will write more about that later.)
• $325.00 cash for tips
• $80 Travel Money/$40 me - $40 Pat
• Travel Iron
• 3 Pair Sweat Pants
• 6 Sweatshirts
• 18 Pair Sweat Socks
• 9 Pair Black Socks
• 18 T-Shirts
• 9 Pair Boxers
• Yellow-Blue/Green Plaid Shirt
• Black/Gray/Tan Pull-Over
• Olive-Yellow/Blue Shirt
• Burgandy/Blue/Gray Casual Shirt
• 1 Flannel/Lined Shirt
• Black Velcro Shoes
• Dress Shoes
• Hiking Boots (I told you, they are important!)
• Dark Blue Suit
• Brown/Black/Blue Sport Jacket
• 6 White Shirts
• 6 Dressy/Casual Shirts (I understand what I mean, you don't need to.)
• 6 Neckties
• Tie Tack
• 3 Sweater Vests
• 6 Casual Slacks
• 3 Dress Slacks
• Belt
• Greek Shirt if I can find one
• Swim Suit
• Wild Red/Orange Shirt
• 2 Oversize Towels
• Cross-Stitch

And there folks we have it. At least until I start looking around and realize I need something else. :-))

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 lists

You should SEE his list!! 4 times as long as mine! You will be amazed...and he only wants to take ONE suitcase per person, plus a carryon each! For 18 days.... Just got an email from the US Embassy in Athens. We are hoping to set up a lunch with one of the consular officers. We were trying to get a tour of the Embassy itself, but it is a federal holiday the day we get there and it is closed. But the officer said she would be glad to have lunch with us. So...if we can get transportation issues straghtened out we will do that. And then off to the ship! YEA!!!!

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 NOW it's getting interesting

Well, my first post. Today it got exciting. Not that I hadn't been looking forward to the cruise, because I have. But today was that "little extra" that will probably get me movin' and groovin'. Today we got confirmation of our first shore excursion. We booked it on our own based on super reviews from prior guests.

On the 25th of November we'll be arriving in Barbados at about 7 am. After a taxi ride to the catamaran docks we'll leave with somewhere around 18 others, probably none from the cruise ship, for a full day of fun and sun. We'll be on the catamaran "Cool Runnings" that has an excellent reputation for service, adventure and food. (They also serve a lot of Rum drinks, but we'll miss out on that part.) We'll follow the wind up the coast stopping to snorkel with the turtles and stopping again to snorkel around a sunken ship. In between we'll have a buffet lunch which from other visitor's reviews is "to die for."

On the way back we'll be tacking into the wind, something neither of us has done before. From what I have read that is an interesting part of the trip for those of us who are not sailors.

Thank goodness for the Internet. Absent some "surfing" we would have been stuck wandering around Bridgetown or taking one of the cruise excursions on a catamaran that will host between 50 - 60 people. We'll see how accurate the reviews are, but there were so many of them, we just couldn't exist.

More later. I'll post my "take with" list and give everyone an insight into the kinds of things I worry about. :-))

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 Fun Travel Gadgets!

So . . . are you guys buying any neat & fun travel gadgets for the trip??!
What's going on for preparation??
:o)

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 Geez

Wow - Yellow Fever - Tetnus - Malaria . . . are you sure you want to go???? ;o)

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 on our way!

Today...Wed. Sept 17...Dad and I did step 2 in the process getting ready to leave. We both got our yellow fever shots AND...tetnus shots. AND...we have to go to our Dr. and get antibiotics to take for malaria. Step 1 was sending our passports in to get renewed. We did that on the 10th. Then we have to send them to the Brazilian Embassy in Houston to get our Visa's to enter Brazil. Once we get that...we are good to go. Well, besides packing...

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 Kudos...

Jchon wants kudos on the logo, so here they are! :)

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 Starting things off right...

Jchon said to check out the board, so here I am, checking it out! Looks good!

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 I tried to post

and it wouldn't take my message....I was mentioning that this system is wonderful..especially if I can get Frank/Dad to stop long enough at an internet cafe to post!

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 this is wonderful!

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 Nah

I don't think I will ;o)

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 Just Checkin'

You can delete this. I am just playing. :-))

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 Now You'll Understand

Now you'll understand why it's more fun when people on this end ask LOTS of questions for you to answer!! ;o)

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