Pinegar Posts

It's been a long time

2009-04-26T20:08:00.000-06:00

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. ~Anatole France

Sometimes you wonder if you'll ever be the same after experiencing part of life's changes and growing periods. I guess that's why those times are called life-changing events. So I suppose the answer would be no. Why would you want to be the same?

These past few months have been difficult and sweet. We have experienced answers to prayers, miracles we truly needed and only wished for, memories never to be forgotten, and devastating loss and sadness. How do you start when you can't begin?

So that's where we will start--the beginning. A brand new year! It seems so long ago, I can hardly remember our celebration of 2009--yet Christmas continues to be a wonderful memory. We spent the New Year with friends playing games and eating delicious treats. Of course we rang in the new year with our traditional toast and kiss.

January 2009 was quite uneventful for us. We continued to wait on our loan for our new medical office building. This was quite stressful and it seemed the economy drove everyone to hold back loaning any amount of money, particularly in real estate. This was an extremely volatile time for our business, yet we felt peace--although uncertain what the future would hold.

We had a great party the end of the month with our Pinegar family. We gathered at Kelly & Mike Ballard's home (our niece and nephew) and just enjoyed seeing each other after a long while. Bekah reacquainted herself with her Lockhart cousins and Price cousins. It was a fun night.

Spencer also received his Webelos badge in Cub Scouts. He's our third scout--and joined the ranks with his brothers. He has a lot to aspire to since both Nick and Alex are Eagle scouts. His Arrow of Light is next...and becoming an 11-year old scout.

February was exciting as we looked forward to going to California to see Wicked in San Francisco. It started out as a girl trip---but quickly turned into a big family getaway as the "boys" decided to join us--boys being husbands. We booked our tickets in advance and waited for the big day. Bekah joined us for her birthday celebration--even though her birthday wasn't until March. We were supposed to go with Steve and Mary Ann, Christine & Paul, Heather and Jared, Steph and Bekah---but Mary Ann's health took a turn for the worse, and she and Steve were not able to go with us. So instead, my nephews, Peter and Patrick flew in for the great Wicked night. The show was incredible! If you haven't seen it--It's time to put it on your must-do list. We loved it and wished we would have taken all of our kids to see it. We also enjoyed a day in San Francisco with our Peter, Patrick, Heather, Aunt Christine, Uncle Paul and our San Francisco cousins, Nathan and Kevin. We had a blast touring Chinatown--even eating a Chinese breakfast-Dim Sum that Bekah said she'll never eat again...we'll see about that.

Along with seeing Wicked, the highlight of our trip was being with the Buchan family. We can't seem to get enough of them. We enjoyed seeing Uncle Steve--seen here with Rebekah...and our Aunt Mary Ann. She continued to be in high spirits--even though she was suffering from the effects of her recent chemo. She always had a happy face on for us and words of love and good advice. Rebekah will always remember this time as it was the last time she would spend with her sweet Aunt Mary Ann.

As Jared and Bekah arrived home to Nick's 19th birthday, Stephanie decided to stay in California with Mary Ann, Steve and Heather. Mary Ann's health had declined rapidly in just a few short days, and we knew each day and week was a blessing. Jared and his mom, along with all of Mary Ann's sisters and brothers were able to visit her before she peacefully passed away on March 2, 2009. At the exact time she passed away, a very heavy rainstorm passed through and it seemed the heavens wept with us. Only a little while later, the sun beamed through and we knew Mary Ann had made it safely to paradise to be with her dad and other family members--even our sweet baby, Jacqueline-- who passed away 14 1/2 years ago. We still can't believe Mary Ann is gone. But we know through the gospel of Jesus Christ that we will see her again in the spirit and someday in the flesh. That we will enjoy the same relationship we had with her in this life.

Mary Ann's funeral was beautiful, just like she was. Faith, Courage and Love drove her to accomplish many things in life, particularly while she was sick with breast cancer. She continued her real estate career and inspired other cancer patients at her Hooters Club. She traveled to see the LDS church history sites with Steve and visited Hawaii again. In January, she and Steve went to see her oldest son in Maryland to make sure he was settled with his new career move. Last fall, she was invited to speak at the Relay for Life and give hope to those fighting cancer. She received a letter from the director of the Relay for Life, Nolan Yaws in which he told her, "Never have I seen someone so determined and so strong, Never have I seen someone so compassionate and so caring. Never have I seen someone so witty and joyous while fighting such a horrible disease. I want you to know that no matter what happens...no matter how things turn out, you have touched my life and filled me with a memory I will never forget."

We don't know if we could say it better--but our lives will never be the same because of Mary Ann. We have spent our lives loving her and her family. She has been the sunshine that sparkled into our lives over many visits, trips and phonecalls. We're not sure if there is a happy without her. But her example of strength and looking positively at every trial, never complaining--even at the loss of her own life, makes us believe happiness comes from within, and that we choose our own degree of happiness. That her faith, courage and love can become ours.

A miracle happened the day Mary Ann passed away, our 3-year long medical office building project funded. So in the midst of deep sadness and despair, we had not been forgotten. The Lord had answered us...though it seemed so small compared to losing our sister. We grew a lot that day--a reality check to what was truly important.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

We decided to do something a bit different this year for Christmas. We had been trying to find the right time to visit the Buchan family this past fall, but life got crazy and so did we. So the Sunday before Christmas, we really felt like we should go to California and make a "surprise" visit. This gave us 2 days to pull together the rest of our Christmas shopping and get ready to make our trek across Nevada. We made the necessary phone calls (to make sure it was okay to go ahead with the "surprise") and hurried our holiday activities.

We "celebrated" Christmas at home on December 23 at 10:30pm. We waited and waited for Nick to come home from work, but finally just started opening gifts....of course, we packed a few to take to the Buchan family and to open on Christmas day.

We packed the car, cleaned up and got on the road Wed. morning, December 24 at 2:30am. We thought if we left early enough we would miss the winter storm that was forecasted for the evening. We pulled up to Heather's house a little after lunch, tired but happy to have a safe trip. After a bit of a rest, the real surprise was about to happen. Steve and Mary Ann called to tell us they were on their way to Heather's house (Steve knew we were there--but Mary Ann had no idea!) When they arrived, we all hid, except Bekah and Spencer who answered Heather's door. Mary Ann just looked at them as they yelled surprise - - and wondered if we had flew them out for Christmas. We all jumped out of our hiding places and yelled surprise and told her we were joining them for Christmas--if it was okay with her. She started to cry--but I think they were happy tears.

We did a little last minute shopping -- Mary Ann was in pursuit of a good "turkey annihilator" for Steve :) We grabbed a few things for dinner and went back to the Buchans for a great dinner with all the family.

It was fun for us, because we even surprised Granny -- who I had dropped at the airport only a few days before. So Christmas Eve included the Price family, the entire Buchan family, Granny and us. It was a great night...and we stayed up till the wee hours wrapping our last minute items.

Our Cousins: Peter Buchan,Alex, Nick, Patrick Buchan Jordan Price, Jared Price & Spencer

Jared with his bro-in-laws: Paul Price & Steve Buchan

Christmas Day 2008

We were sooo tired that Christmas morning wasn't our wake up early & usual run for the presents day. We started off watching a couple of movies and eating our traditional stuffed eggnog french toast with cranberry syrup. Spencer's days were so messed up that he didn't even realize it was Christmas morning until he saw a filled stocking near the couch. We actually started our Christmas festivities more about noon. It was fun to share Christmas with the Buchans -- even though all of their children are grown....and the tree was buried with presents since we had 2 families. You would think Santa would have left a path--but Spencer was very willing to dig under the tree and find everybody their gifts. Mary Ann made out like a bandit. It was fun to give the Buchan family our gift (we had them this year). We made a photo album for them all called, "There's Something About Mary" with all of Mary Ann's pictures in it from babyhood to this past Thanksgiving. She cried again--and I promised her we didn't come to make her cry. Spencer got his sushi gift certificate, Bekah her ipod--Alex his only wish--an itouch and Nick a leather coat. The Buchan boys went home with TVs and Heather got a surround sound system...but most of all we all made fun and precious memories of being together for Christmas.

We enjoyed a fabulous Christmas dinner of prime rib, special mashed potatoes, etc.--and homemade guacamole--all made by our inhouse chef--Chef Peter. If he ever decides he doesn't like making bombs for a living, he can come cook for me :) We stayed up late and had a wonderful time visiting. Mary Ann said Steve told her he didn't realize how much work went into getting ready for the holidays....he was exhausted! (I think Mary Ann secretly smiled at his realization of all the holiday preparations she had done over the past decades :) It's nice to be appreciated.

After a sleep in day, we headed south to the bay area. We started off our little get away with a stop at Acapulco Mexican Restaurant in Alameda, CA. Steve has been going to that restaurant since he was a little boy. Mary Ann and Steve reminisced about the good old days, and we checked out the places Jared lived as a child.

We spent the next couple of days in San Francisco. It was beautiful weather, and we stayed in a really nice hotel right across from the Ferry Building. We have never really taken the kids to San Francisco--so they had a ball in the big city. Spencer didn't really like all the "beggars" around, until we pointed out they were actually street performers. Once he realized that, he had a bunch of fun with them--especially the bush man that tried to scare us and the robot guys.

We walked up and down the Embarcadero visiting the ferry building, riding a train and hitting Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf. We ate at Boudin's Sour Dough Bread Bakery and visited Union Square--lots of fun window shopping and the biggest Williams Sonoma I've ever seen. Of course no visit to San Francisco is complete without a visit to Ghiradelli Square where we ate giant hot fudge sundaes. Bekah ordered strawberry--don't ask me why. Luckily for Mary Ann, she was able to park for free everywhere she went because of her handicap plates. So she would rest up in the car between our city visits.

We also got to spend some fun time with our Price cousins and enjoy our Uncle Paul's fabulous cooking. It was fun to reconnect and visit with everyone.

Happy 20th Anniversary

We celebrated our 20th Anniversay while we were in San Francisco. December 27, 1988 was a great day and so was December 27, 2008! It's gone really fast. Jared gave me a beautiful diamond ring. I made a photo album for him about the 100 reasons I love him. We both feel really lucky.

After a fast and furious trip, we left the Buchans with a little peace and quiet and lots of treasured memories--and I think Steve ended up with the flu (sorry Steve) . We headed home to our wintery haven in Alpine, Utah to welcome in the New Year with friends. We look forward to 2009 and the many opportunities we will have this coming year.

Christmas Letter 2008

2009-01-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

Halloween 2008

2008-11-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

"Nothing on earth so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night!"-Steve Almond

We had a fun Halloween. It was nice and warm (in the high50s instead of our usual freezing blizzard). Nick and Alex are too old to trick-or-treat--though I think Alex went around gathering candy. Spencer's 5th grade class had a wax museum for Halloween, and he had to pick a famous historical figure, so he picked John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln's assassin. I think he was the only kid that wasn't a hero in the wax museum. He had a mustache earlier in the day, but it was too itchy...so he said he was an old-time gangster.

Here's Spencer with his friends...a motley crew.

Bekah decided to be a nerd for Halloween. She even got to wear her costume to school. She put a "kick me" sign on her back, but said she took it off at lunch after people kept taking her up on it. Isn't she just adorable? Stephanie liked her costume so much she borrowed it for her Halloween Bunco night. Jared accused her of borrowing his stuff to look nerdy. Do you see the family resemblance?

Bekah and her friends at Halloween 2008.

Since Stephanie couldn't wear Bekah's costume on Halloween, she pulled out her authentic 1960s Laugh In dress and dressed go-go style that night. Jared said he preferred the go-go girl to the nerd :) It's amazing what a new hairstlye and different clothes can do for you.

Jared ended up answering the door and eventually taking a nap after the 8pm crowd dissapated. Next year we're planning a big Halloween party!

Jones Family Christmas List

2008-11-09T23:19:00.001-07:00

CHRISTMAS 2009 &2013

Pinegars - Chris & Cristi

Chris & Cristi - Adam & Mandy

Adam & Mandy - Jeff & Vicki

Jeff & Vicki - Browns

Browns – Pinegars

CHRISTMAS 2010 & 2014

Pinegars - Adam & Mandy

Chris & Cristi - Jeff & Vicki

Adam & Mandy - Browns

Jeff & Vicki - Pinegars

Browns - Chris & Cristi

CHRISTMAS 2011 & 2015
Pinegars - Jeff & Vicki
Chris & Cristi - Browns
Adam & Mandy - Pinegars
Jeff & Vicki - Chris & Cristi
Browns - Adam & Mandy

CHRISTMAS 2012 & 2016

Pinegars - Browns

Chris & Cristi - Pinegars

Adam & Mandy-Chris & Cristi

Jeff & Vicki - Adam & Mandy

Browns - Jeff & Vicki

CHRISTMAS 2013 & 2017

Pinegars - Chris & Cristi

Chris & Cristi - Adam & Mandy

Adam & Mandy - Jeff & Vicki

Jeff & Vicki - Browns

Browns – Pinegars

List goes Downward to next sibling every year

Our last stop - Rhodes

2008-11-09T22:28:00.000-07:00

Our last stop-and an incredible one. Rhodes has 80,000 people-a far cry from the islands that only had a thousand. It's famous for the Colossus of Rhodes-the great statue of the Sun God Helios, which stood 107 feet tall over the harbor. It was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Rhodes has many souvenirs and shirt depicting the Colossus. Since it was built around 200 B.C. and stood only 56 years after being destroyed by an earthquake, it has made a lasting impression on the world. Even our own Statue of Liberty is designed after the Colossus and mentioned in a poem inscribed on a plaque inside the statue in New York Harbor.

Rhodes houses the oldest inhabited medieval town in Europe. As we sailed into the harbor, the walls of the huge castle greeted us. The Knights of St. John built the walled city in the 1300s. It was home of the Knights Hospitaller (aka - Knights of Rhodes). They also built a palace for the Grand Master of the Order of the Knights of St. John.

The palace is absolutely amazing. It was restored in the early 1900s by Italy. We toured the palace and the courtyard inside. The mosaics were so intricate. The Knights had used the mosaics found on the Greek Islands created mostly in the 2nd and 3rd century B.C. They incorporated them into the floors of the palace. The workmanship is so beautiful.
We wall of the town is over 2 1/2 miles. When we walked inside the Old Town of Rhodes, it was one huge maze of markets that go on and on and on. Over 6,000 people live in Old Town Rhodes. We walked down the Street of Knights, one of the most important streets of the Old Town. We stayed in one of the many inns inside the wall of Old Town that date back to the Middle Ages.
We spent a lot of time wandering the streets in Old Town. There were tons of shops with all different types of touristy items and clothing. You would think we would have eaten a bunch of Baklava in Greece, but gelato was everywhere - and we enjoyed the variety of Greek flavors...especially on our waffles with chocolate syrup. Some of the vendors dressed up their goods to attract the thousands of customers wandering the streets. We really liked unique part of Greece.

Sat. Oct 18, we chartered a bus and went to Lindos. On the way we were able to see the new city of Rhodes and how the people built right over the old ruins with new apartment buildings --you could still the old ruins that were 2,200 years old below. We also saw the Temple of Apollo in Rhodes. Jared decided it would make a nice hat on my photo.

Our next stop was Anthony Quinn Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches on Rhodes. It has sparkling blue water, a pebbled beach and quiet cove. It is named after the actor, Anthony Quinn, after filming The Guns of Navarone on Rhodes. Quinn also is famous for starring in Zorba the Greek. Quinn was given the beach and surrounding area with the promise he would develop it. That never happened, so the government reclaimed it and it remains small and beautiful.

In Lindos, we saw the Acropolis. It is built on the top of a large hill--like all the Acropoli. We had to walk up several stairs to get to the top. Donkey rides are very popular. Several people paid 5 euros to ride to the top. We chose to walk. The stairs were nothing after our thousands of stairs in Symi just a few days before.

The Acropolis overlooks two beautiful bays. One of which is where the apostle, Paul, landed to teach the people of Rhodes on his travels in Greece in 51 A.D. It's pretty amazing to think that as he sailed in, there was the acropolis high on the mountainside and he was going to teach the people about Christ and not worshipping other gods--when the acropolis was built to do just that. By then, the Romans were in control of the Acropolis. It wasn't until the early 1900s when major "restoration" work began by the Italians. They set out to rebuild the Acropolis, unfortunately their methods actually hurt the ruins more than helped them. It is now in a state of restoration by the Greek nation.
Here we all are at the Acropolis in front of the Doric Temple of Athena Lindia. At the base of the Acropolis is a relief of a Dorian ship cut into the rock at the foot of the steps leading up to the Acropolis. The ship bears traces of paint and was carved about 180-170 B.C. There's an inscription that describes the relief and the name of the sculptor-Pythokritos.

On our drive back from Lindos, we stopped in Philermos. It is a beautiful forested hill about 875 feet above sea level. We stopped and walked the Via Dolorosa (or Road of Golgotha). A trail depicting Christ as he went to be crucified. At the top of the hill is a 50 ft. cross and a beautiful overlook of the towns below.

After a fabulous and exhausting 3 weeks, we headed back to our hotel and packed our bags to head back to Athens in the morning...little did we know we still had adventure waiting for us on our trips back home.

Astypalea, Kos, Nisyros & Symi

2008-11-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

"My experience with seasickness is that at first you are afraid you will die, then after a few hours you are afraid you will not. "
--G. Yancey Mebane, M.D.

Sailing is a fun sport if you have the stomach for it. Monday - Oct 13 was another one of those long days. Two of our crew fed fish while many of us watched the horizon. A few iron stomachs actually went downstairs and slept in the galley. Thankfully, the waters calmed down around lunch and the rest of the sail was quite enjoyable. We landed at Astypalea right in time for dinner.

Astypalea is a very small island with 1200 people on it. The main tourist attraction is the castle built on the top of the hill. It was built in the 1400s by the Venetian Querini family to get away from the pirates that were inhabiting the Aegean Sea. We walked up to the beautiful castle on the hill in the dark. It was quite a walk--but beautiful. We stopped by a row of windmills, skirted our way through the small town with cobblestone alleys, and watched the old men and teenage boys fraternize together at the local taverna.

The next morning we headed off for Kos. The seas were almost like glass. Kos is considerably larger with 30,000 people. We arrived around 3pm and rented scooters once again to go see the Asclepieion (hospital) where Hippocrates was born on Kos and is thought to have received his training. Hippocrates, known as the father of medicine, revolutionized ancient medicine in Greece by distinguishing it from other field, thus making medicine a profession. Hippocrates is most famous for writing the Hippocratic Oath.

We also saw the Plane Tree of Hippocrates where he taught his students medicine. The tree is only 500 years old, probably a shoot off of the original tree that would have been 2400 years old. Scaffolding is holding up the ancient tree now.

After our historical tours, we headed into Kos town, which was the biggest town we've been in since Athens. It's a harbour town with a huge fortress at the end of it. The wall around it is fascinating because it is built with leftover Greek ruins. For example, there was a block used in the wall with a carved head in it. The people who built the castle in the 1400s used anything that was lying around. We ended the night with Gyros and french fries and a hour plus scenic route home in the dark. On the way, we drove through an area that had just gotten rain. The smells of the herbs and flowers were so aromatic and incredible.

Though we had rain and wind the night before, the seas were calm and we ended up motoring with no wind to the island of Nisyros. This was a pretty interesting island because the center of it has an active volcano crater. We rented scooters again - this time only 7 Euros, then off to see the crater. It was deserted when we got there. It looked like we arrived at the moon. It's quite different than seeing a crater in the states where we would stand behind a guardrail and look down into it. We were actually able to walk down to the caldera, where the crater floor is warm (and signs say unstable ground). There were small fumaroles where puffs of steam were coming out and yellow smoke from sulfur. The place smelled horrible. There was a small ash eruption in the 1870s, and some seismic activity in the 1990s, but it did go through our heads more than a few times that this was an active volcano.

We drove around the island to an itty bitty town with narrow walkways and tons of cats. We visited a volcano museum (not the greatest) and stopped on the side of the road where there was a very small geothermal cave. It was nice and warm --and it didn't even stink. It felt great since we were a bit chilly from our scooter ride. We ended up at another castle before having dinner on our boat that night. One of the unique features we noticed on Nisyros was the terracing all over the island. It's amazing! Almost every bit of the mountainous island is terraced with rock walls. The terracing provided them flat land to farm and helped preserve every bit of water since the summers are extremely dry...but this was incredible--the man hours alone to do this.

Jared & Barry Jenkins sporting twin shorts

Our next stop - Oct 16, Symi.Today we sailed in Turkish waters on our way to Symi. Lynn said we were officially in Asian waters...so this makes it a 3 continent trip. The Turks and Greeks hate each other. Probably because they have fought over land for thousands of years. The Ottomans controlled the islands for hundreds of years until their downfall in the early 1920s--then Italy came into the picture. Most of the Greek islands were not actually Greek until after world war 2.
What a beautiful island. Probably one of our favorites. It is totally different than many of the others we have visited. It has a different look and feel. The houses were peach and yellow going up the mountainside with large stairs coming down to the harbor. Symi rivaled Santorini in a completely different way...a warm and sunny way. We walked the shops of the harbour, buying jewelry and paintings, looking at the sponges that used to contribute the wealth of the island and then decided to head up to the old town square on top of Symi...which started off with a few stairs and kept going and going and going....

Jared loved the photo ops. Everywhere we turned there was another picture waiting to be taken. The colors were so bright and vivid.
It was quite a hike to the top of the plaka. It's amazing these people still live here and walk the stairs all the time. The views were beautiful. Although this island only has about 2,600 residents, there are 12 churches and 13 chapels on this small island. We were told each family would build their own church. Just amazing. Our next stop is Rhodes--our final destination. In some ways it will be nice to know we'll never get seasick again--at least not on this trip. But the sea has it's own attraction. It draws you to it...calling for the next adventure, demanding respect, promising thrills and offering tranquility and sights yet to be explored.

"I do not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains. I do not wish to go below now." -Henry David Thoreau - from Walden

Santorini

2008-11-02T21:29:00.000-07:00

Santorini is as beautiful as they said it would be. We sailed right through the Caldera. Santorini is a crescent shaped island. It used to be a regular island that had a volcano in the middle of it. It blew up and the center of the island sank into the sea. One of the largest volcanic eruptions the world has ever
known happened on this island causing the caldera. People have connected the eruption to the legend of Atlantis.The largest city (Thera or Fira - either is correct) is on the top of the steep cliffs almost 1000 feet above the huge lagoon.

Here we are sailing through the Caldera. The water was so glassy as we went through. Kevin joked that we should throw out a ski behind the sailboat.

When you think of the Mediterranean, Santorini is what comes to mind - white stucco houses, blue doors, pastel colored homes and rounded roofs. Absolutely beautiful! We docked on the other side of the island and rented scooters to get to the Fira.

"Wild Hogs of Santorini"

We rode all over the island on our scooters. Here's a self-portrait at Red Beach.The island had beaches with red sand, white sand and black sand. Lots of variety. Notice our matching shirts. Lynn and Caren got the whole crew two different sets of matching shirts. We looked pretty sharp with 10 of us wearing the same shirts :)
We spent 4 days on Santorini because of strong winds. If we had to get stuck on one of these islands, Santorini was the place to be stuck. Boat after boat filled the harbor trying to get out of the wind. We actually anchored onto another sailboat since there was no room on the dock.

Traveling around the island, we went to the small town of Oia. It is very well known for its sunsets. The famous Oia Sunset is considered by many as one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world. Tourists flock from all over to watch it from a castle. We took some really pretty pictures from that famous point. We also took lots of pictures of this gorgeous town.

Oia by day. The windmills and architecture are just amazing. There are churches everywhere.
'

We spent one afternoon visiting Ancient Thira - incredible ruins on a hilltop 2,000 feet above sea level. Over 5,000 people - Dorians, lived there in the 9th century B.C. I was so happy we had scooters. We watched people walking up the almost 2 1/2 mile hairpin climb. Even after we got there, we had to walk another 10 minutes in 45-50 mph winds....wow!!! At the top were panoramic views of the ocean and town below.

Ancient Thira at the very top of the mountain -who lived there and why?? They had to be in great shape just going up and down that mountain...the slaves must have brought food.

We spent our last day in Santorini relaxing and exploring. I think we went on almost every road on the entire island in just 4 days. We found a nice little beach--called Perissa Beach. It was a pretty cool day with gusts of winds. We cringed as we watched European tourists in their speedos splash through the waves...brrrrr.
We also found a fun little restaurant. We had a great time taking pictures of all our food....see it below.

Foods of Greece

L-R: Stuffed Vine Leaves; Traditional Greek Salad; Greek Mixed Meat Platter; Lamb in Clay pot with melted Feta.

After 4 days on Santorini we decided to call it quits and head out on Mon, Oct 13 to our next island, Astypalea. (Paros was cancelled because of the wind storm). Little did we know it would be the second longest day of our lives....

At Sea - Kea, Mykonos, Delos & Paros

2008-11-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

We spent Sunday on the sea. Probably the longest day of our trip in very rough seas for 8 hours as we sailed to Kea. Just stopping for lunch was a blessing for all of us, since we got out of the waves for a few minutes. Besides our mighty captain and his wife and a few of the crew who had tough stomachs--the rest of us studied the horizon quite intently that first day...with a few fish feedings. I'm proud to report neither of us lost it--but we were elated when we hit land that evening and ate a traditional Greek dinner.

Jared & Barry Jenkins setting the sails.

Here I am actually sailing the boat--okay, just steering it. This was a lot harder than it looks. This is not your little powerboat in the lake! The waves were big, the wind was strong and you had to use quite a bit of strength to hold it steady. After 30 mins. I told the captain I was done. We set sail for Mykonos Monday morning.

You can't visit Mykonos without seeing Petros the Pelican (I think he the 2nd, the 1st Petros is actually stuffed!) This guy wanders the island asking for free fish handouts and is welcomed everywhere. He's been the island's mascot over 50 years. He actually went inside the restaurant kitchen while we were there and snooped around.

Mykonos is known for its windmills. They are really beautiful. They were used to grind grain into flour and have made Mykonos famous since the 1600s.

The next day we went to the sacred island of Delos. We took a ferryboat over to it. Delos is an amazing island with incredible ruins. In Delos' prime, over 30,000 people inhabited the small island of Delos (abt 500-100 B.C.). Because of its central location, Delos was a major slave trade area, sometimes selling up to 10,000 people in one day. The homes in ancient days were large and spacious--maybe 3-4 stories high with large kitchen and running water toilets. They told us everyone from all over the known world at that time came to Delos to shop and trade.

Delos was also one of the 3 most important religious centers in Greece. It has a huge temple to worship Apollo since Greek mythology says this was his birthing place. In ancient Delos, people were not allowed to be born or die. They would ship them off to a neighboring island.

It also is home to the Terrace of the Lions. Huge lions built for Apollo. You probably recognize them. Delos eventually was taken over by the Romans and eventually became a Pirate Lair during the Ottoman period. Here are Lynn Wootton, Jared, and Barry Jenkins at the Lion Terrace.

After an afternoon at Delos, we rented scooters and explored the island of Mykonos. It reminded me of Wild Hogs in a way :) We went to Paradise Beach--the only non-nude beach on Mykonos. It's supposed to be this hugely popular beach that people come to from all over the place, but the sand was pebbly and hurt our feet. We weren't overly impressed. Hawaii and Cancun top this any day. We did swim in the Aegean Sea for the first time (kind of cold for Oct 7). It was pretty easy to float--pretty salty.

We ended up at this beautiful restaurant for dinner with live flowers hanging all over the ceiling. We celebrated Kevin Birrell's 51st birthday...they even played Happy Birthday for him over the speaker system. Here we all are again at this gorgeous restaurant. L-R: Barry & Sarah Jenkins, Steph & Jared, Kevin & Carolyn Birrell, Caren & Lynn Wootton, and Sue & Blaine Hales.

We left the next morning for a one day stop in Paros - one of the most popular European hotspots. Since we came off season, everything was much quieter. Paros is also known for its beautiful white Parian marble - used to sculpt the famous Venus de Milo found in Paris.

We also stopped and went scuba diving here. The Aegean Sea was pretty bare, not a lot of fish or seaweed, coral, etc. We did go through a pretty cool sea cave. The top of it was above sea level, and we were able to breathe on top of the water. There were also stalactites coming from the top of the cave. It kind of reminded me of our own Timpanogos Cave in American Fork Canyon. We spent the evening in Paros, where Steph ate a delicious ice cream waffle with the Jenkins. Then back to the boat for bed and a short sail in the morning to Santorini or Thera or Thira..the Greeks have lots of names for the same islands. We can't wait!

2008-10-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

Our visit in Athens included seeing the Temple of the Olympian Zeus and the Arch of Hadrian. Just standing up looking at these 55 feet pillars and the Arch which is 60 feet high by 45 feet wide made you wonder how did they do it without cranes or modern tools. The Arch and temple were only minutes from our hotel and you can see the Acropolis through the arch.

Our visit would not have been complete without visiting the claimed Center of the Earth in Delphi. It is an ancient and modern city built high in the mountains. More hiking as the entire ancient city literally spans the mountain. This is where the famous Delphic Oracle was and where people came to speak to her to get direction. It also housed the Temple of Apollo-seen in the background behind our group and hosted the Pythian Games, the precursor to the Olympic Games.

My favorites have been the Theatres. The ancient Theatre of Delphi was built in the 4th century B.C. and seated 5,000 people. Incredible that so many theatres made it through the centuries. Sue Hales and I decided to do a little theatrical acting of our own. :)

After our visit to Delphi, we headed back to Athens - a 3 hour bus ride. We spent our last day at the National Archaeological Museum. This museum is incredible. It is considered one of the great museums of the world. It houses finds from 6800 B.C. to the Neolithic times through the famous Cycladic and Mycanean--and even Egyptian art. Most of the findings are from the 500-300 B.C. times. The statues were amazing. The Greeks loved the human body, particularly the male body. Think of the athletes and Gods from that time. We were not allowed to pose with the statues...but we did take several photos.

Greece and the Greek Islands

2008-10-23T18:11:00.000-06:00

We're back!! What a great 3 weeks of sun, sailing, and sightseeing. We had a blast! We started our trip on Sept. 28, 2008 and flew to Paris then Athens. We'll have to go back to Paris since we only saw the inside of the airport.

We traveled with 4 other couples...who joined us throughout the week in Athens before taking off on a 60 foot sailboat for 2 weeks to the islands.

Of course our first stop in Greece was the Acropolis of Athens, home of the famous Parthenon. It is even more magnificent in person. Below is a picture of us in front of the Erechtheum, though the statues are replicas and found in the museum, it is still incredible. And you can't forget the Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus...most famous in modern days for Yani Live at the Acropolis. Look familiar? We toured several ruins including ancient angoras and plakas. Since Acropolis means high city - the "Sacred Rock", and there are Acropolis' all over Greece, we were introduced to stair climbing--the first of several hundred--no, make that thousands before our trip came to an end. Not mention the subways in Athens. We skipped the escalators and ran the stairs.

Maybe we worked off a little bit of Baklava :)

One Week and Counting

2008-09-21T11:19:00.000-06:00

It has been a whirlwind few weeks. We are madly trying to get ready for Greece. We leave in exactly 1 week! Only 68 things left to do before we leave :)

The kids are keeping busy in school and work. Nick's job just ended with Parley's Hardware. He'll be starting a new job installing installation during the day and selling it at night. He made 5 sales in one night last week. Alex is getting ready for Homecoming. He invited Alexis Black--so Alex and Alexis should have a great time. He even bought a new suit. (Actually I bought it--but I'm happy--he's been anti-suit for the past 3 years :) He's also playing fall rugby. Rebekah is babysitting and swimming--and keeps busy in her Academic English, Social Studies and Science classes. Spencer is playing football non-stop. They are 3-1 with 2 complete shutouts the past 2 weeks--Just like BYU!!!! They made the playoffs that we will miss--thanks Grandma and Grandpa for taking him. Hope they win!

I get the privilege of singing in the General Relief Society Choir this coming Saturday. It has been a great experience, though I hesitated because of the time commitment. If you watch the meeting, look for me--I'm in the back (duh!--tall people always are!) I'm left of the director (not the extreme right) second row from the top-4th seat from the right. I'll smile at you. Oh--and I'm almost finished reading the Twilight series I started about 3 weeks ago...go Bella.

Jared is busy collecting money for the building and finishing plans. It's going along very well and he is excited to see it all come full circle. It's a beautiful building. If you're in Payson sometime, drop by and see it...you can't miss it. It's attached to the hospital.

We'll take lots of pictures in Greece so you can see how beautiful it is. I saw Mama Mia--if it looks that good in a film--it's got to be gorgeous in real life.

Say Goodbye to August

2008-08-29T22:54:00.000-06:00

What a week we had! School started and we've already played hooky. We went to Park City to visit our Aunt Mary Ann and Uncle Steve who came to visit from California. Mary Ann is battling breast cancer and Steve is her knight in shining armor...who captured the lady taking her to Utah for a well-deserved vacation. We rode the Alpine Coaster and Alpine Slide. We definitely recommend the coaster, but skip the slide! (Way too slow!) We played in the pool, ate and had a wonderful time. A mini vacation that was so nice. We wouldn't have traded it for the world.

We just got home from Adam & Emily's wedding dinner--and can't wait for the wedding tomorrow (August 30th in the Manti temple.)
What a beautiful couple. It was a great night and Jared's family will be at the temple tomorrow. All of us will be there, but Rachel who is sick. We'll miss her and wish her better health. My brother, Chris also arrives from Germany this weekend. We're so lucky to see him again....we need him to bring Cristi too. It's been a long time since we've seen her and we miss her.

It's going to be freezing here on Labor Day, so much for plans to the lake. We'll probably just hang out and do the regular thing. We're getting excited to go to Greece...just 30 days away!!!
Kaló taxídi (Bon Voyage in Greek).

Last week of Summer

2008-08-15T09:32:00.000-06:00

What a crazy summer this has been in the Pinegar family. I can't believe it is nearly over. Life is way too fast! Nick went on Heritage Tours ( a 3 week church/American history tour for graduated seniors). Then came back and started a job for PPM. Alex worked for various people all summer--along with a trip to Idaho to AFY (Adventures for Youth) where we river rafted, rock climbed and rode horses. Rebekah and Spencer both swam for Hilltop Aquatics--each qualifiying for the state swim meet and placing in their events. Then Spencer started football immediately after....We are busy!
Jared has been busy with work...the medical building in Payson, the motel in Mt. Pleasant and property down south, along with our rentals. He does find time to run the mountains behind us. He is busier than he has ever been.
I am the official driver for the kids. I thought with Nick and Alex getting a license they would have time to drive the kids--but they are never home because of work. So we bought a new car with better gas mileage and I drive and drive. I also entered 2 more 5ks and finally got under 30 mins. My new record is 28:21....slowly but surely. And of course we had our yearly lake powell trek.....fun!!!

Oh What a Beautiful Morning

2008-06-29T10:07:00.000-06:00

We're starting out our holidays the right way...with family. My brother, Adam and his wife Mandy are visiting from Missouri. My kids are so happy they have cousins visiting. So it is a non-stop festival of parties, get-togethers and outings. We'll post the pics as we take them. This is my first time to blog...hopefully this will work and our family and friends will be able to see what's going on in the Pinegar's lives. We're all growing up so fast!

Adam, Mandy and Olivia (who had an encounter with a dog while she visited.)

Bekah, Samantha (her cousin) and Spencer

Who couldn't love Olivia --Spencer giving Olivia a big hug!