The Howerter Family Homepage

This year is a big year.  I turn 50 in November, John and I just celebrated our 30th anniversary, and Mom turns 80 in December.  Mom, Aunt Betty, Mark and Jan Risley and John and I went on an Alaskan cruise the first week of September to celebrate, and it was fantastic.  The scenery is absolutely gorgeous.  Everywhere you look you see ocean, snow-peaked mountains, glaciers or something else equally beautiful.  Our ports were Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan and Victoria, British Columbia. 

We went whale watching in Juneau and saw humpback whales, seals and bald eagles.  The whale watching was great, ending with 2 humpbacks diving right outside our window.  They were about 100 feet away from the boat, and we got to see both of their tails.  It was great.  We went up into the mountains into Canada while in port at Skagway, and rode a vintage train back down.  We followed the trail through the mountains that the miners used to walk.  In Glacier Bay, we were on the ship, but we were only a few hundred yards from the actual glacier.  Mom, Aunt Betty and John and I stood on our balcony and watched as the glacier “calved” 4 or 5 times.  I cannot describe how cool that was.  It was very loud too.  It was my favorite part of the trip. 

Needless to say, we ate more than we should have, but that is what cruises are for.  Right?  Anyway, it was a great trip, and I am so glad that Mom got to share it with me.

John and I spent last week in Las Vegas with Jeff and Judy to celebrate Jeff’s new job, and we had a great time.  The weather was warm and sunny, but cool in the evenings.  It was so nice to be able to walk around and enjoy the sun.  We saw Terry Fator, the ventriliquist that won America’s Got Talent last year.  It was a great show and a lot of fun.  We went to the Valley of Fire State Park which is beautiful.  These huge red rocks are just jutting out of the desert, and some have Indian etchings on them.  Very cool.   We drove by Lake Mead on the way out and headed back to Vegas to the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop which is featured on the show Pawn Stars.  Jeff and Judy watch the show, and they got to see one of the guys at the store.  Then we went to Cafe Heidelburg which is a little German deli and diner in the older part of town.  Jeff and Judy ate there 12 years ago, so we looked it up.  It was delicious.  We also went down to the old strip and saw the Gold Nugget and the old, old casinos.  It was pretty cool, but I don’t think Iwould stay down there.  (Sorry Judy.)  We went to the Minus 5 bar near Mandalay Bay which is a bar made out of ice.  It is 5 degrees below 0 Celsius, and the bar, walls, glasses, signs are all made of ice.  We put on big coats and gloves and went in.  It was very “cool”.  We also did the ultimate in “supreme hogery”.  The hotels have buffets that you pay a daily price, and you can eat as much as you want the entire day!  I was mortified that we were doing it, and then they made us wear a wrist band the entire day!  I called it the “the mark of the glutton”.  It was great food, but we obviously ate more than we needed to.  All in all, it was a great trip, but we were glad to be home.  I missed the kids so much.  It is always nice to get back to see them.

We had a couple looking at our house this weekend, and they came 3 different times for a total of 7 to 8 hours in just 2 days.  We are very hopeful that they are going to buy it.  They told us that they want to work something out, but they have to wait until the negotiations to sell their business in New Mexico are finalized.  They hope to have that complete this week.  We really think that they are sincere, but we also know that anything can happen (or not happen).  We are praying that this goes through.

On another note, we are heading to Las Vegas in the morning with Jeff and Judy.  We are going to celebrate Jeff’s new job.  We are looking forward to sun, warmer temps and relaxing.  It will be nice to get away for a few days and hopefully enjoy some gorgeous weather.  We are hoping that good weather will be here to stay once we get back.

Here I am watching the recorded Illini game with John, Jeff and Judy.  I checked the results and know that Illini goes into 2 overtimes but then loses.  I am enjoying watching their reactions while I know the outcome. 

We have had a nice time.  Jeff and Judy came over last night, and we had a nice dinner and then some Pinochle and Sequence.  The girls won at both!  This morning we went to Taylorville for breakfast at the Spring Garden (an old Burger King), and it was wonderful.  Then off to Big R for a walk around.  John and I did not buy anything which is a miracle.  We have just been relaxing since we got home.  Dinner and more cards are in our evening plans. 

An added bonus:  we booked a trip to Vegas for early April!  Yippee!

We have been back from our trip to Europe for a month now, and I am just now getting to posting about it.  John left on October 31, and he worked for a week in Cheltenham.  I left on November 6, flying to Chicago and then on to Heathrow in London.  My flight was uneventful, but I did meet Beth Moore in the Springfield airport.  Beth is a wonderful Bible study teacher, and I have done quite a few of her studies.  She was coming off of a plane as I was heading out to mine.  She was doing a conference in Springfield that evening which is why she would be in Springfield.  I was so excited to meet her.  We spoke for just a few seconds, and I told her that I would be praying for her and the conference.  As soon as I got on the plane, I emailed everyone that I had just met Beth Moore! 

I was a little apprehensive about flying by myself, but I got to Chicago and found my gate with no problems.  Since I was flying business class, I was able to hang out in the business lounge which happened to be directly across from my gate!  When I walked over to my gate, they were already boarding, so I got right on.  The flight went well.  I had a nice meal, watched a few movies and slept for the rest of the trip.  John met me at Heathrow as I came out of customs, and I was so glad to see him there.  Since I had slept quite a bit on the plane, I felt great.  We went back to his hotel, got his stuff and headed to London. 

We were in London for 3 nights, and we tried to see everything.  We took the double decker tour bus which drives you around town to see all the sights.  We toured Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London, and we went shopping at Harrod’s.  We went to church at Hillsong Church in London which was in a theatre which was showing a tribute to Queen at the time.  We saw Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre, and it was fantastic.  Seeing that was my favorite thing of the entire trip.  We rode the tube which we were not sure I would be able to do because of my claustrophbia.  Our hotel was near Kensington Palace, and we could see the gardens from the restaurant window each morning at breakfast.  It was a wonderful time.

We then rode the train to Paris which included going under the English Channel.  Unfortunately I cannot tell you how that was because I slept through it on both trips.  We were only in Paris for about 48 hours, but our friend, Jean Mark, showed us all the sights.  He drove us all over Paris showing us everything, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, Arc de Triumph and so much more.  Everything was so beautiful, and we were lucky to have nice weather.  He and his wife took us for a wonderful dinner, and we also had breakfast at the cafe at the Louvre.  He also drove us to Normandy to see Omaha Beach and the Memorial and Cemetary.  It was a 2.5 hour drive, but it was well worth it.  We walked on the beach and saw where some of the German guns were.  It is amazing that anyone survived.  Our visit to the memorial and cemetary was very emotional.  It is just overwhelming to see where the battle took place and then to see how many died.  We all owe those men so much!

We then went to Cheltenham, England, for James and Noella’s wedding.  It was nice to see the LRS office and the town where John spends much of his time.  The day before the wedding, Martin took John and I for a tour of the English countryside.  It was beautiful even though the weather was awful.  We really enjoyed the scenery and the pubs.  Thanks Martin.  The wedding was beautiful, and we are so happy for James and Noella.  It was a great way to end our vacation. 

It was a perfect week, and I had a wonderful time.  Thanks John!  I love you!

John by one of the German guns 2 miles from Omaha Beach.

I cannot believe that we have been back from Disney World for 3 weeks!  I am sorry that I did not post sooner, but it has been very busy since we got back. 

We had a wonderful time.  It was so good to get away and to have time with the family.  It was so much fun watching the boys and Lily get more and more comfortable with Jay and Katherine as we spent every day together.  The boys always wanted to sit by Katherine because she let them play games on her Iphone!  She is the perfect aunt!

We visited all the parks, and we enjoyed each one.  The boys were able to ride some of the bigger roller coasters which surprised us all.  They loved Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom, and they were able to ride it 3 times!   This roller coaster goes very fast, and even goes upside down.  The second half of the ride takes you backwards too.  They also really liked Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom which is a milder roller coaster.  We were able to see the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom twice which thrilled me.  The second time we were sitting directly in front of Cinderella’s castle, and the lights on the castle were gorgeous.  Sara and I both cried because we were so happy to be there.

Lily did not get to ride too many rides, but I think she still had fun.  Ryan and Sara bought her a package of 6 plastic princess figurines, and she played with them in her stroller each day.  She is such an easy going kid.  She did get to ride the Aladdin Magic Carpet ride, the Carousel, Nemo and the Pirates of the Carribean. 

Ryan and family went to the beach one day, and John, Jay, Kat and I went to Blizzard Beach.  I am not much of an ocean and sand lover, so the concrete and chlorine water at this “beach” were perfect.  We all enjoyed ourselves and were very tired that evening. 

We also went to a character breakfast which we had never done before.  It was fantastic.  The food was great, and Minnie, Goofy and Donald walked from table to table.  They focused on the kids at each table, and it was wonderful.  Lily’s eyes lit up each time she saw one coming.  Grandpa John really enjoyed that, and it may have been his favorite part of the trip.  The boys enjoyed getting to see them too.  The picture of the boys is from that breakfast.  The picture of Lily is in a gift shop where she climbed up and snuggled in with the stuffed animals.

I believe that history was made on this trip.  Jay and I love to ride roller coasters, and we rode one at Animal Kingdom that we did not like.  It is the Dinosaur ride.   You rode in a car that took you along a track, and the car bounced up and down.  Dinosaurs would “attack” the car.  It was dark and the sound was extremely loud.  When the dinosaurs would roar, it sounded like the dinosaur from Jurrasic Park.  It was just too over-stimulating.  The first thing that we said when we got off was, “Let’s find the kids, so that they do not take the boys on this ride!”   Jay and I both said that we did not like it, and we would not go on it again.  I had my eyes closed for most of it because it was too much. 

Thank you John for taking us all.  We had a fantastic time.  We love you!

We are back from our week at Disney World.  We had a good time and good weather, and the boys had so much fun riding the roller coasters.  I will have more and pictures soon!

We are heading to Disney World in 22 days!  Ryan, Sara, the grandkids, Jay and Kat are going with us, so we are all very excited about going.  When we made the reservations, it seemed so far away, but now it is sneaking up on me.  I need to get away from all this mowing!  I cannot wait to spend an entire week with my husband and family!

Last Thursday we went to Nashville to see Dan Timenski at the Ryman Auditorium.  The concert was fantastic, but we had a little accident on the way down.  We were about an hour out of Troy when a baby deer ran out in front of Bart.  There was no time to stop, so the Suburban and deer collided at 65 mph.  There was nothing left that we could see of the deer except a little hair on Bart’s bumper.  This is what Bart’s Suburban looked like.  We drove the car to Mt. Vernon and had 2 repair guys look at it to make sure it was safe for the remainder of the drive.  They both told Bart that it was fine to drive, and the second guy taped the (working) lights back in.   So off we went to Nashville.  Along the way, John noticed that some of the tape was coming off, so he bought some duct tape at a gas station and repaired it.  (Is there anything that cannot be repaired with duct tape?)  When we arrived at the hotel, Bart put the car in Valet Parking, and John asked the attendant to be very careful with the duct tape on the light.   Of course the next day when we got the car, John had to ask that attendant (a different one) if he messed up the tape.  Thanks Bart for driving, and we are sorry about the Suburban!

I am so excited!  I finally get to go to Europe with John.  James and Noella are getting married on November 14, so I get to go to the wedding.  John will be over there working for a week, and then I will fly in on November 7.  We will spend the week sightseeing, and then go to the wedding on Saturday.  We will then head home on Sunday.  We will defiinitely go to Paris, but I don’t know if we will try to squeeze anything else in.  I am happy to see the sights in England and Paris!  I will be flying over by myself, but I don’t think that will be too bad.  I am pretty good at sleeping on airplanes, so I am hoping to sleep most of the trip.  John will be at Heathrow to meet me, so I won’t have to navigate anywhere by myself.  Thanks James for asking Noella to marry you!  Thanks John for taking me!  I love you.