Summer Must Be Here!

Summer took a long time coming this year (...this year?), but it must have finally arrived, because the boat has been out, and the kids are heavy into their sports.

There is now a ceremony for everything - including, apparently, a graduation from junior high school (who knew?). Jack put a tie on and made us proud, including making the Presidential Honor's list. He received a certificate from President Obama.

Luke is hitting home runs on the baseball fields (inspired by the promise of a Dairy Queen trip), with his good neighborhood friends Jose and Grayden.

Libby is impressing us on the soccer field, in competitive girls soccer. There is a tournament every other weekend or so, and they always seem to come in 2nd place - not bad, though, among so many good teams out there!

Minnesota's "Greatest Generation"

This Memorial Day weekend included the opening of the Minnesota Historical Society's "Greatest Generation" Exhibit at the Minnesota History Center in downtown St. Paul. Today's festivities included a reception for those who contributed artifacts and funds to make the exhibit a reality. A certain Minnesota named Bruce Laingen is included in the exhibit, so we were invited to represent him at the reception before seeing the displays!

The day began with a noon flyover of four T-6 "Texan" aircraft from World War II, as they performed a missing man formation over the capitol.

There was an opening program outside the History Center, with speeches and music (you can see the Catholic Cathedral of St. Paul in the background).

The display, which will be a fixture at the History Center for many years, includes a quote by Bruce Laingen next to a photo of him coming off the airplane after his time as a hostage in Iran (1979 - 1981). The suit he wore off the plane (which he couldn't give away to his sons) is next to the photo).

The suit is right next to General Vessey's uniform from Vietnam. General John Vessey, also a native Minnesotan, began his career as a private in the Minnesota National Guard in World War II, and rose to become a four star general and ultimately the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Ronald Reagan.

A photo in the exhibit also shows Bruce Laingen next to President Jimmy Carter, and Vice President Walter Mondale (the latter a native Minnesotan as well).

If you are in Minnesota during the next few years, get to the History Center to see this interesting display!

Learn more about the L. Bruce Laingen papers at the Hisorical Society's WEBSITE.

Luke's 1st Communion

Luke made his first communion today, at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Woodbury. His grandparents (Mary & Vern Jaszewski) and his godparents (Ruth & Craig Gromek) were there to wish him well. We had a big family party at our house afterwards, with lots of cousins, and Italian soup on a cold, rainy day.

Here is Luke behind the desk, all grown up, ready to face the world! Congratulations, Luke!

Libby Hangs With the Gov!

Today we had the opportunity to meet with the Governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty, one-on-one... he had agreed to tape a brief video message for the next Defense Alliance of Minnesota event on May 7th... Libby came with us to help, and the Governor found her much more interesting. Here she is, hangin' with the "T-Paw."

Pat Lawton was there, too - doing all the work, as usual. Here are the "bad girls," messing with the 200-year old historic furniture! See what's going on with the Defense Alliance, HERE.

Ahhhh Italia!!!

Well, we feel like we earned it! 25 years of marriage (almost 30 years together!) and 3 kids... we had a wonderful 2nd honeymoon in Italy. 3 days in Rome, 5 days in Tuscany and 2 days in Venice. The weather was perfect the entire time - 70 degrees and sunny - and we balanced seeing the obvious sights (like the Borghese Gallery, and the Colosseum, below) with relaxing in the way that Italians do so well.

Our little apartment in the heart of Rome was perfect... just a block from beautiful Piazza Navona, the happening square in the center of the capital. We were only a little scared when the earthquake hit the country, just to the east of Rome. Our room was rocking like we were on a ship, and our chandelier was swaying for a long time!

Here, Laura is throwing a coin (1 Euro, or $1.33) over her shoulder, into the famous Trevi Fountain... that means that she will some day return to Rome... as I did after throwing a Secretary of the Navy coin in the fountain in 1999!

The St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican was amazing... not sure why, but we were both surprised to find the tomb of St. Peter right inside the church. There were lots of people in Rome and the Vatican during Holy Week, but not as many as there are just a few weeks later in late April. Our timing was great.

We rented a car and headed north after our little shake up in Rome. This is the view from the town of San Gimignano, just north of Siena in Toscana (Tuscany). It was the perfect town to stay in, because it is not as touristy as the more famous ones, yet we were within short drives of Florence and other sights. Our "agriturismo" (bed and breakfast) is behind us, and had the view (below) up at San Gimignano.

Our little Fiat Panda took us all over, including a fascinating day in the crowded city of Florence,

where we visited the Uffizi Galleria, and the Accademia - to see Michelangeo's 'David,' and countless works of Renaissance art. We also met up with Maria Manetti Farrow, a native Florentian whom I had met on the Dubai trip. She showed us her beautiful, modern apartment in a renovated grand palace, had Chianti in the palace's private bar, and went to dinner with her American boyfriend, a retired Army special forces sergeant major. We had the best meal we have ever had (really), and watched as the restaurant owner fawned over Ms. Manetti. We're not sure, but we think she is genuine Italian royalty.

Finally, we made our way to Venezia (Venice)! This place is absurd, and beautiful. It is like a 2,000 year old Disneyland. We had a great hotel again, this time a 10-room place right on the Grand Canal. We had the special room, #8, which included a tiny breakfast and reading area overlooking the canal.

We toured the Doge's Palace, St. Mark's Square and went to Murano to see where so much of Italy's glassware is made. And - of course - we had lots of Italian meals. Although smoking is no longer allowed in restaurants, even in Italy, the amount of smokers in this congested city was amazing, and in the crowded city streets it was very noticeable. We didn't do a gondola ride, but our private, high-speed, sunrise water taxi to the airport on our last morning was really something!

It was the trip of a lifetime... It is also nice to get back home again, and realize how blessed we are to live in this great country. Thanks to everyone who helped out so much with the kids... we are very grateful!!!

Dubai, United Arab Emirates!

What an amazing trip! In the span of six days we did some pretty interesting things…

We traveled halfway around the world and back, non-stop, in the luxurious accommodations and impeccable service of United Airlines Business Class (the on-board map shows us flying between Baghdad and Tehran - not a good place for an emergency landing!)...

We visited a country that the last time I was there for a brief war, in 1991, was a barren desert, with only a handful of buildings higher than a few stories, and now has hundreds of the world’s most impressive skyscrapers, malls and attractions, including the highest building in the world, at 2,500 feet (below).

The conference was the World Leaders Syposium: The Middle East in the 21st Century. We met lots of interesting people, including the former Chairman and CEO of Dayton-Hudson Corporation and, over a glass of wine, lamented together about what Macy’s has done to that once great, iconic store...

We Visited the sky-room bar of one of the world’s only seven-star hotels, where rooms start at $10,000 per night and Fedderer plays tennis 1,000 feet above the water, and looked down on the surreal Palm Islands projects that are spreading man-made cities in the shape of palm trees into the Arabian Gulf...

We heard fascinating, no-holds-barred lectures on history, politics and international relations from former secretaries of defense and state, ambassadors, special emmisaries, legendary journalists and former service chiefs...

We walked an Arabic gold souq, took a water taxi on the Dubai Creek and had a traditional Arab meal complete with 4 courses of lamb and peppermint juice...

We met the woman who brought Gucci distribution to America, and wants us to visit her in Florence, one of her three homes around the world...

We walked the endless Persian carpets and marble floors of the world’s newest and grandest mosque, the Sheikh Zayed Mosque of Abu Dhabi, where our Yemeni guide described the 99 names of Allah (and the fact that camels are arrogant because only they know Allah’s 100th name) and the practical reasons Islamic men and women can’t pray together...
We had a fabulous meal at another of the very few seven-star hotels, the Abu Dhabi Palace Hotel, where a Croatian super model played a grand piano in the lobby, the floors are marble polished so perfectly they are like mirrors, and a huge taj-like entrance stands only for visits by the royal family of the UAE (United Arab Emirates). Pictured here is another of the seven star hotels, the Burj Al Arab, across from our hotel (the Jumeriah Beach). The hotel's exterior changed colors spectacularly at night...

We talked to 37 Pakistanis, 42 Indians, 17 Bangladeshis, 27 Sri Lankans, and a handful of other foreign nationals from all over the world, who make up 85% of UAE’s population, and who are rapidly building and transforming the nation, and servicing its amazed Western tourists...

We toured the exhibition for the UAE’s Sadiyat Island with its planner, who described how the multi-billion dollar project will transform the country into an arts leader in the Middle East by bringing a new Guggenheim museum as the centerpiece of a brand new, eco-friendly city on the sea...

And last, but not least, we heard a former diplomat and hostage, with grace, vast historical perspective and humor, perfectly frame the strategic reasons that the U.S. and Iran must have a dialogue and repair its relationship to help ensure our national security in the 21st century...
Now there’s a trip...!

Minnesota Wild Game!

Libby went with her Dad to her first professional hockey game - the Minnesota Wild versus the Colorado Avalanche at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul. We had the privilege of sitting in the Lockheed Martin Sky Box! It was an awesome game - it went into sudden death overtime - and then to a shootout, before the Wild finally won!