We went with the Cains to Aggieland to watch our alma mater play against Texas Tech. Very hot day and third largest crowd in the stadium’s history.

We met at Laurie’s townhouse and had a wonderful lunch courtesy of Jason’s family. Jason’s Mom even made her famous brownies! It was great to see Laurie and Jordan as well. Jordan has just started medical school in Houston so it was nice to see how things were going. Laurie has a wonderfully decorated townhouse, and I really enjoyed hanging out.

My parents, brother David, his wife Edi and my nephew Zachary also joined us for lunch. It was so much fun and great seeing family again. Zachary is such a sweet boy. I’m glad we’re closer so that I can actually attend some of his school events. It’s still a drive, but at least it’s not a flight away.

It’s amazing how much he’s grown. I remember him going to his first few Aggie games as a young baby. He’s so smart.

I won’t mention much about the game since we got outscored, but it was fun being in Aggieland again. You really start to feel your age when you visit your university. My brother is a Class Agent (meaning representing his class) for the Class of ‘88, and his class was being honored at the game. David was on the field, so it was special and wonderful to be there to share that with him. We were sitting on the side of the stadium where he was facing us. We could see Zachary on the sidelines enjoying the fans that are used to cool off the football players.

After the game, we ordered pizzas, and then we headed back to Austin. My parents drove up and visited on Sunday. It was fun showing them around Austin.

Now, it’s back to househunting. I know I will love living in this part of Austin. It is starting to feel like home.

So, here is an update. Our last weekend in Germany was everything we wanted it to be. We spent time with our friends, Carrie and Asuka, ate at some of our favorite hotspots, visited a nearby town (Koenigstein) that was by far one of my favorite places in Germany, and, of course, traveled on no sleep.

We’re just one of those couples who wants to enjoy as much as possible and save the travel preparation for when everyone else has gone to bed. Not the best way to travel, but the movers already packed and moved our bulky things, so how hard could it be to finish up? I had packed my suitcase on Thursday, but I saved the cleaning for last. Then, there was the issue of luggage weight. I felt so badly for Jason have to carry all our luggage down the stairs.

We were both exhausted after only 2 hours of sleep. I immediately got up and started vacuuming and mopping the floor. I don’t know how we got it all done. The funny thing is we made a 2:30 a.m. run to the recycling center. Since recycling is a big thing in Germany, we waited until the last minute to do our run because there is always that last water bottle or food wrapper to recycle, and we didn’t want to leave any garbage for our landlord.

We had some issues at the airport (had to get out of line to pay a change fee that the travel agent forgot to charge to Jason’s work, had to go back and pay for the heavy luggage, security undoing my whole backpack — and this was just Dresden). Then we get to Frankfurt — pretty smooth.

Washington Dulles airport was the craziest part of our journey. There were 3 international flights that landed around the same time, and customs agents were randomly selecting people so the lines were outrageous — only two agents for 3 flights! We had to drag our luggage, re-check them, go through security again and still get boarding passes (Lufthansa was our carrier first/then United). Our outbound flight was at 5:35 p.m., and we were going through security around 5:20! Originally we had a little under 2 hours between flights.

To top it off, tensions were high for people because everyone was in the same situation. I think almost everyone missed their flights.

Jason and I ran like crazy to our gate (with a few travelers rooting for us) only to find out that our seats were given away. There were 4 people ahead of us flying in from Switzerland. There were only two seats left, so we were the lucky ones. So, we made it home to Austin, had our Tex-Mex fix and went to bed.

The week was in full swing on Tuesday as we started our home search. It’s been fun but exhausting.

We are glad to be home in Texas. There’s no place like it, and we are very happy to be closer to family.

The good thing is that I was pretty organized (of course, staying up late, but not nearly as late as our past moves), and all he had to do was to pack a few things in boxes (books, clothes, misc.). The rest I had packed in suitcases the night before. The whole process took the mover about 2 hours.

The hardest thing about any move is being organized and going through the endless stacks of paper, magazines, etc. Fortunately, Germany recycles almost everything.

Lastly, we have to clean the apartment and the kitchen. Of course, we’ll have fun the last few days of our time in Deutschland.

Speaking of fun, Carrie and I went shopping today. I will really miss hanging out with her and Asuka.

Most importantly, I look forward to being in one state with my immediate family for once. I look forward to attending Zachary’s events — can’t believe he’s 6! I look forward to seeing Christian again. He’s grown so much since I last saw him in May.

I will not, however, be looking forward to the heat. The saying that always pops in my head when I think of the heat in Texas is from Seinfeld — “The heat…my God, the heat!” Of course, they weren’t talking about Texas in that episode. The other day, my friend Carrie, said she thinks it’s that time of year when the temperature falls to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Wow!

I know Jason’s looking forward to college football. We’re already scheduled to go to an Aggie game the first weekend we’re home.

Well, that’s all for now.

As I recall my day, Jason was getting ready for work and came running into our bedroom telling me that something has gone terribly wrong in New York. We watched in horror as the day unfolded.

After the initial shock, I thought immediately of family members who live in New York. Everyone in our family survived. I, at the time, did not realize David was in New York, and then in dawned on me that he might be there for work. I was so nervous as we could not get a hold of anyone to know where he was. When I finally heard his voice, I felt such relief as I do not know what I would do without my brother or anyone else in our family.

As the weeks went on, I remember actually fearing going to work. I was in sales at the time, and I would occasionally have to cross the Bay Bridge. I got nervous each time I saw a white, unmarked van. I feel for those people in other countries who live in fear every day.

I also traveled some for work, but Kraft had grounded all employees.

In October of 2001, my Mom had an emergency heart surgery, and I remember wishing so badly that I had never moved away. I left immediately, but the fear of flying had set in. That was one of the longest flights of my life. I had never feared flying until the events of September 11. I also didn’t want my Mom to worry about me, so I didn’t tell her I was coming.

I remember going to church and seeing the strength of a woman whose brother was a firefighter who perished in New York. She had the strength to serve in church that day.

One of the family stories that shocked me the most, and something I didn’t discover until months later, was that our cousin, Arnell Prato normally flew on United Flight 93. He was supposed to be flying that day, but for some reason, thank God, he was not working that day. He was a flight attendant. My Aunt Esper was unable to hear from him for days due to the traffic on the phone lines, and she thought for sure that both of her children perished. Our cousin Winnie was supposed to be working downtown that day. Arnell was finally able to get through. My heart goes out to him as he lost some of his dearest friends on that flight. He has since resigned from United and is now in dental school in Ohio.

May God Bless the world today as we mourn the victims of this tragedy. Let us always have the victims, their families and the heroes in our hearts.

Some things I love about summer:
• swimming
• losing the socks and donning fun shoes
• new swimsuits
• pedicures
• ice cream
• tanned skin
• fun summer makeup
• watermelon
• catching up on reading
• summer blockbusters
• summer vacations
• reunions
• fresh squeezed lemonade
• BBQ!!!! Especially Filipino or Texas style

Here’s to summer!

I remember being so proud of her for getting her GED. I wish I had some pictures to post, but they’re all 35 mm, and they’re in storage. One day, I’ll scan some pictures.

I’ll never forget how beautiful she was. I don’t think she had a single wrinkle when she died. She was a smart, beautiful, deeply religious, devoted wife, mother, grandmother.

I miss her. Here’s to you, Grandma! We miss you, but we know you’re much happier in Heaven reunited with Grandpa. And now, you are able to play with our son, Christopher. We love you! Happy Birthday!

As I look back on my trip a month ago, a lot of emotions come up. It was a very good trip. I really enjoyed traveling with my parents, Auntie Meng, and all the people on our trip. Even through all the trials, we all survived, and I would do it all over again.

As previously mentioned, Jason had a business trip to Austin, so I was able to go on this trip at the last minute. I wish Jason could have come with us. We had used two weeks of vacation to go to the Philippines in January.

We traveled in the footsteps of St. Paul. I am amazed at the amount of foot travel St. Paul and the Apostles had to endure to convert people to Christianity.

Here is a picture of me (it was hot that day which explains my clothing and scarf on my head) in one of the amphitheaters where St. Paul preached:

Let me mention this. When you go on a tour as a pilgrimage, you participate in Daily Mass, prayer, and a daily Rosary. I always enjoy all aspects of it. I am glad that I have served as a lector on all 3 trips. I think going on a pilgrimage is great because you renew your spiritual side.

Here I am at our first outdoor Mass with Fr. JC and Fr. Rodrigo:

Jason is helping me upload pictures into a gallery, but I will say that my Dad got the best pictures. He always does. Those are posted on themendozas.org in the photo gallery. Some of my pictures are fuzzy, but I’ll post them anyway.

Each stop had something inspiring, but I will highlight those that touched me.

In Ephesus, Turkey, I was deeply moved when we visited the Virgin Mary’s House which is where she lived her final days in exile. There are water spigots where you can drink the water. Those pictures of me drinking the water are on themendozas.org website. I was moved when we celebrated Mass there. That was a very special place for me. I left an offering, said a prayer inside her house, and left a prayer on the prayer wall outside the house.

Here I am with my parents touching the statue of the Virgin Mary (dates back to 1867):

I also enjoyed finally seeing the Parthenon. I had done a high school project on it, and it was so neat to see it in person. I was sad that we only had a few minutes to go there. We were so rushed in trying to catch up with the schedule that by the time we reached the top, we had 15 minutes to take pictures and make it back down the hill! We were behind schedule because there were four members of our tour who were stranded in Germany the first day.

I was more than excited to see Pope Benedict XVI. I had gone to Rome in times past, but each time Pope John Paul II was sick or away. In his whole papacy, I never saw him, which saddens me. I was also sad that we weren’t able to see his tomb. The crowds on a Papal audience day are so large that it’s near impossible to see what you want to see when you’re with a tour group.

I feel so blessed to have seen Pope Benedict XVI pass by in his motorcade and to have his blessing. I feel even more blessed to have been there with my parents and godmother (Auntie Meng).

I was also moved at the holy relics of the table of our Lord and the Holy Manger. I believe I had been to the basilicas that house these before, but it’s been so long. I also don’t think our tour guide as a student pointed these out – I think I would have remembered.

There is a place that houses a piece of the table of the Last Supper, and a place that houses a piece of the manger in which Jesus was born. I was so moved by those two relics. I have to jog my memory as to which basilicas these are in. We saw four basilicas in one day, and they are all running together.

Here I am with the Holy Manger:

And, of course, as with any trip, I enjoyed all the beautiful artwork, artifacts, views, culture, people and food. I may go back and add a daily blog of the things we saw and did, but in the meantime, these were the things that moved me.