Well, today was beautiful, and sunny...again. We arose to the sad news of the devastation in Japan. After we prayed for Japan, we headed out to the University of San Diego. It was as big as UCLA, but different. Different foliage, different architecture, and diversities. The tour guide and panel discussion after the tour were great. The location of the school is also ideal; just blocks from La Jolla shores.
We had lunch on campus and then headed back to the hotel for some down time, packing and arranging our belongings. The kids went swimming and to the workout room.
We are going to the Brea mall to do a little last minute shopping and dinning and then back to the hotel for the rest of our packing and resting. We fly out tomorrow afternoon at 12:45pm and will arrive in Houston(Bush Intercontinental) at 5:45pm.
We are saying goodbye to sunny southern California....until we meet again.
See ya'll tomorrow. Bye
Toni and Carol
Friday, March 11, 2011
Earthquake
As we were all heading to bed last night, we were seeing images of this horrible earthquake followed by a tsunami in Japan. I couldn't stop watching it, but I knew I had to take care of your children today, so I forced myself to fall go to sleep!
I know some of you are concerned about our safety here in Southern California. We have been watching the news all morning and have made a few changes to our plan today. We are still planning our 10:00 AM tour in San Diego at UCSD, but we will no longer be going to the beach for the afternoon. In our area, the surge is reported to be 2-3 feet above normal so as far as I can tell there is no danger for us, but the beaches will be closed. The news just said that they are NOT evacuating anyone from their homes, but the beaches are off limits. :) We will most likely take the kids shopping in San Diego - AWAY from the water!
We were just at Malibu on Wednesday and that beach is already closed. (It is also a beach that faces the south!)
We will continue to watch the news and keep you informed as best we can about our situation.
Thanks for your continued prayers for our safety!
Carole and Toni
I know some of you are concerned about our safety here in Southern California. We have been watching the news all morning and have made a few changes to our plan today. We are still planning our 10:00 AM tour in San Diego at UCSD, but we will no longer be going to the beach for the afternoon. In our area, the surge is reported to be 2-3 feet above normal so as far as I can tell there is no danger for us, but the beaches will be closed. The news just said that they are NOT evacuating anyone from their homes, but the beaches are off limits. :) We will most likely take the kids shopping in San Diego - AWAY from the water!
We were just at Malibu on Wednesday and that beach is already closed. (It is also a beach that faces the south!)
We will continue to watch the news and keep you informed as best we can about our situation.
Thanks for your continued prayers for our safety!
Carole and Toni
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Thursday
Another beautiful day in California!! We started out the day visiting a very small private college - Claremont McKenna. This college is part of a college system which includes Pomona College, Scripps College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College and a few other Claremont colleges. Claremont McKenna was nestled in a small community in Claremont, CA that is approximately 30 minutes from our hotel in Anaheim. The drive was beautiful and the campus was very quaint. There are only about 1200 students at Claremont McKenna, which is a big change from USC and UCLA!
After our tour, we stopped at the hotel for 20 minutes to change and drive over to DISNEYLAND! Everyone had a wonderful time and the weather could not have been any better. It was warm in the sunshine and we had a cool breeze. I could not believe how amazing the park was! It was so clean and every flower was perfect and every light bulb was dazzling! I told Toni that I felt like a 7 year old again and all of my childhood memories of Disney came back! Toni and I rode quite a few rides, but Space Mountain was our favorite! We even had to ride it twice!
Tomorrow is our last day of touring - we will go see UCSD so the students have a chance to see another school in the UC system. We will spend some time in San Diego and then come back tomorrow night to write our "Thank You" notes to all of the colleges and universities for accommodating us. Then, it's time to pack and say our good-byes to sunny Cali!
Thanks for the prayers - we have been blessed with good weather and safety thanks to our Lord. Each day I am reminded of Psalm 118:24 - "This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"
We'll touch base tomorrow!
Blessings,
Carole and Toni
After our tour, we stopped at the hotel for 20 minutes to change and drive over to DISNEYLAND! Everyone had a wonderful time and the weather could not have been any better. It was warm in the sunshine and we had a cool breeze. I could not believe how amazing the park was! It was so clean and every flower was perfect and every light bulb was dazzling! I told Toni that I felt like a 7 year old again and all of my childhood memories of Disney came back! Toni and I rode quite a few rides, but Space Mountain was our favorite! We even had to ride it twice!
Tomorrow is our last day of touring - we will go see UCSD so the students have a chance to see another school in the UC system. We will spend some time in San Diego and then come back tomorrow night to write our "Thank You" notes to all of the colleges and universities for accommodating us. Then, it's time to pack and say our good-byes to sunny Cali!
Thanks for the prayers - we have been blessed with good weather and safety thanks to our Lord. Each day I am reminded of Psalm 118:24 - "This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"
We'll touch base tomorrow!
Blessings,
Carole and Toni
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Wednesday
Today was GREAT!!!! We started off toward UCLA at 8am and was able to maneuver through the freeways using the carpool lanes, getting us there at 9:45. While that may seem like a long time to you, it was nothing like yesterday. The tour was very detailed. The campus is HUGE! It sits on over 400 acres and we felt like we walked most of it. The weather was HOT!! It was 80+ degrees and no breeze as we walked the campus.
After the tour, we ate lunch in the University Center (UC) there on campus. The UC has every type of food available; pizza, Chinese, Thai, Burgers and more. The kids loved it. After lunch, we shopped in the bookstore and then off to Pepperdine. As soon as we turned onto Pacific Coast Hwy, it was a new day. Both vans of kids were in awe. The Pacific Ocean was to our left for the entire trip up the coast to Malibu. All we heard was ooohs and ahhhhs the entire drive. (UCLA and Pepperdine are 30 minutes apart). Once at Pepperdine, the ahhhs began again. The campus sits atop a hillside with views to die for. It was heavenly. Serene in fact. We couldn't stop taking pictures of the ocean and how beautiful it was.
After we left Pepperdine, we went to the Malibu Country Mart. The kids shopped and had snacks including cupcakes from Crumb's Bakery. Delicious!!! Then we went to the Santa Monica Pier. Roller-coasters, shopping and Bubba Gump Shrimp made this a hit for our evening dinner venue. The kids immediately ran to the water to run their feet through it. We had a great dinner with shrimp and more shrimp.
Well, we are back at the hotel and winding down for the evening. Tomorrow we visit Claremont McKenna Colleges and then off to Disneyland.
Keep us in prayer!!!
Toni and Carole
After the tour, we ate lunch in the University Center (UC) there on campus. The UC has every type of food available; pizza, Chinese, Thai, Burgers and more. The kids loved it. After lunch, we shopped in the bookstore and then off to Pepperdine. As soon as we turned onto Pacific Coast Hwy, it was a new day. Both vans of kids were in awe. The Pacific Ocean was to our left for the entire trip up the coast to Malibu. All we heard was ooohs and ahhhhs the entire drive. (UCLA and Pepperdine are 30 minutes apart). Once at Pepperdine, the ahhhs began again. The campus sits atop a hillside with views to die for. It was heavenly. Serene in fact. We couldn't stop taking pictures of the ocean and how beautiful it was.
After we left Pepperdine, we went to the Malibu Country Mart. The kids shopped and had snacks including cupcakes from Crumb's Bakery. Delicious!!! Then we went to the Santa Monica Pier. Roller-coasters, shopping and Bubba Gump Shrimp made this a hit for our evening dinner venue. The kids immediately ran to the water to run their feet through it. We had a great dinner with shrimp and more shrimp.
Well, we are back at the hotel and winding down for the evening. Tomorrow we visit Claremont McKenna Colleges and then off to Disneyland.
Keep us in prayer!!!
Toni and Carole
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Tuesday
Today was a bit tedious for us. First, we drove for over an hour in traffic to get to the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. Traffic in Houston is bad, but this was way worse. The kids were able to spend some time walking up and down Hollywood Blvd. taking pictures and people watching. It was a beautiful 75 degrees, sunny and blue skies.
When we left Hollywood, we went to the beautiful campus of USC. The campus is sprawled out over several acres of land. It has lots of trees and flowers and both new and old architecture. The tour guides were great. One of them was a current senior and the other, a sophomore. They really explained a lot about the school and the various programs. The kids were very engaged and asked lots of questions.
After we toured USC, we stopped off at the bookstore and bought lots of shirts and mugs and other college type items.
We were off again, and in traffic again. We drove for another hour or so back toward the hotel so the kids could eat at In-n-Out hamburger. It was well worth the wait.
After burgers, we headed to the hotel for some down time, change of clothes and then off to THE BLOCK. The Block is a mall/dinning center just a few blocks from our hotel. Bowling, Movies, restaurants and of course, shopping. We had dinner there and hung out shopping and enjoying the cool California air.
Well we are all off to bed now. Tomorrow we visit UCLA and PEPPERDINE!
Keep us in prayer!
Toni and Carole
When we left Hollywood, we went to the beautiful campus of USC. The campus is sprawled out over several acres of land. It has lots of trees and flowers and both new and old architecture. The tour guides were great. One of them was a current senior and the other, a sophomore. They really explained a lot about the school and the various programs. The kids were very engaged and asked lots of questions.
After we toured USC, we stopped off at the bookstore and bought lots of shirts and mugs and other college type items.
We were off again, and in traffic again. We drove for another hour or so back toward the hotel so the kids could eat at In-n-Out hamburger. It was well worth the wait.
After burgers, we headed to the hotel for some down time, change of clothes and then off to THE BLOCK. The Block is a mall/dinning center just a few blocks from our hotel. Bowling, Movies, restaurants and of course, shopping. We had dinner there and hung out shopping and enjoying the cool California air.
Well we are all off to bed now. Tomorrow we visit UCLA and PEPPERDINE!
Keep us in prayer!
Toni and Carole
Monday, March 7, 2011
More From Monday
We just got back to the hotel and everyone is snug in their hotel rooms!
Today was an incredible day - the weather was much more "California" - like and we enjoyed beautiful sunshine and cool breezes.
We woke up to a great breakfast here at the hotel. Then, we loaded the buses and headed to Asuza Pacific University. We saw one of our former students - Austin Glass! He is really enjoying his time there and told us that you can snow board and go to the beach all in one day from APU.
We went to chapel there and then had a phenomenal tour of the campus. There are actually 2 campuses and our tour guide, Brittney, did a great job of showing us the ropes. We were all extremely impressed and we even learned how to do the school "sign", which is a cougar swipe! What a gorgeous campus and one that glorifies the Lord. Can I roll back the clock and go back to college, please?
After APU, we went over to Biola University. Most of us were unaware, but BIOLA stands for "Bible Institute of Los Angeles". Who knew? We also learned that every student and faculty member must be a professing Christian. What an incredible atmosphere there! We saw two alumnus - Casey Glass (younger sister of Austin Glass from APU) and Paige Warren. Casey introduced us to a special man in her life and Paige showed us all her dorm room. They stayed with us for most of the tour and we all enjoyed catching up with them both!
We arrived back at the hotel around 6:30 PM and left again for dinner at "The Block" around 7:00 PM. After 2 hours of dining and shopping, we made a quick run to the grocery store and then back to Ms. Crawford's room for a birthday party! Happy Birthday to Sophie Adickes! She is 17 today!!
Tomorrow morning we start out at the same time - 8:00 AM. Looking forward to some Hollywood time before USC. Then, Disneyland....Here we come! (Secretly we are all hoping to see some famous people tomorrow!)
Please continue to pray for safety for us and all IT students.
Blessings!
Carole and Toni
Today was an incredible day - the weather was much more "California" - like and we enjoyed beautiful sunshine and cool breezes.
We woke up to a great breakfast here at the hotel. Then, we loaded the buses and headed to Asuza Pacific University. We saw one of our former students - Austin Glass! He is really enjoying his time there and told us that you can snow board and go to the beach all in one day from APU.
We went to chapel there and then had a phenomenal tour of the campus. There are actually 2 campuses and our tour guide, Brittney, did a great job of showing us the ropes. We were all extremely impressed and we even learned how to do the school "sign", which is a cougar swipe! What a gorgeous campus and one that glorifies the Lord. Can I roll back the clock and go back to college, please?
After APU, we went over to Biola University. Most of us were unaware, but BIOLA stands for "Bible Institute of Los Angeles". Who knew? We also learned that every student and faculty member must be a professing Christian. What an incredible atmosphere there! We saw two alumnus - Casey Glass (younger sister of Austin Glass from APU) and Paige Warren. Casey introduced us to a special man in her life and Paige showed us all her dorm room. They stayed with us for most of the tour and we all enjoyed catching up with them both!
We arrived back at the hotel around 6:30 PM and left again for dinner at "The Block" around 7:00 PM. After 2 hours of dining and shopping, we made a quick run to the grocery store and then back to Ms. Crawford's room for a birthday party! Happy Birthday to Sophie Adickes! She is 17 today!!
Tomorrow morning we start out at the same time - 8:00 AM. Looking forward to some Hollywood time before USC. Then, Disneyland....Here we come! (Secretly we are all hoping to see some famous people tomorrow!)
Please continue to pray for safety for us and all IT students.
Blessings!
Carole and Toni
Monday
We arrived in California safe and sound! I haven't posted anything yet because we didn't have internet access for awhile - but that problem is solved!
After we checked in at 4:00 PM yesterday we hung out at our AWESOME hotel for awhile. At about 6:00 PM we headed over to a restaurant called the Claim Jumper. Lots of delicious food with HUGE portions! Unfortunately, the weather here last night was very drizzly and cold. Some of us commented that we felt like we were in Houston in December! It wasn't quite the welcome we had hoped for, but the food was fantastic and we had a great time at dinner.
AHHH! We are about to leave now for dinner, so I'll blog more when I get back to the hotel tonight. We toured 2 fantastic schools today and we have a lot to share. I think Mrs. White has some good pics, too!
Blessings!
Carole and Toni
After we checked in at 4:00 PM yesterday we hung out at our AWESOME hotel for awhile. At about 6:00 PM we headed over to a restaurant called the Claim Jumper. Lots of delicious food with HUGE portions! Unfortunately, the weather here last night was very drizzly and cold. Some of us commented that we felt like we were in Houston in December! It wasn't quite the welcome we had hoped for, but the food was fantastic and we had a great time at dinner.
AHHH! We are about to leave now for dinner, so I'll blog more when I get back to the hotel tonight. We toured 2 fantastic schools today and we have a lot to share. I think Mrs. White has some good pics, too!
Blessings!
Carole and Toni
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