RNC - Part 2

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday buses took us from our hotel in Safety Harbor to downtown Tampa to the Republican National Convention, which was held at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.  The convention experience was everything we imagined and more.  We would leave our hotel at 5 p.m. and not get back to the hotel until between 12:30 and 1:30 a.m.  With 50 states worth of delegates and alternate delegates, and guests (yes, I was a guest), it takes a while to get everyone on the right bus and back to their hotel.  The actual convention evening would end around 11:30 p.m.  With Russ being an alternate delegate, his seat location was on the first tier up from the convention floor, which actually gave a better view of the speakers and performers than where the Tennessee delegates sat.  The visitors’ seats were up in the nosebleed section, so Russ let me have his alternate delegate seat the last two nights.  It was absolutely PERFECT.  So proud of Russ for making this trip possible.  

 

So I’ll share a few pictures, but first let me just summarize some of the speakers we heard. I think our favorites were Ann and Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Mia Love, Mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, and former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. Others we liked were Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire; Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey; Senator-to-be Ted Cruz of Texas; former Democratic congressman Artur Davis of Virginia; Gov. Luis Fortuño of Puerto Rico; Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina; Gov. Susana Martinez of New Mexico; Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia; Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky; Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio; and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin. Whew. That was one long list. And then there were Ted and Pat Oparowsky, who shared a very personal story of how their Bishop, Mitt Romney, helped them when their 14 year old son was dying of cancer.  Sister Finlayson also shared her family’s story of dealing with crisis when Mitt Romney was their Bishop.  I looked around to see tears running down the faces of many.  It was very touching and we’ll remember their stories always.  It was so exciting to be there to feel the excitement of the whole event. Yes, if you saw me on TV, I was the one dancing in the isle during the musical numbers.

 



Proudly wearing our orange tie and scarf for the great state of Tennessee



Tennessee's best ever alternate delegate - Russ!

Shout out for Utah.

Mitt Romney speaking

Marco Rubio speaking

Look closely and you can see Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan on stage with some of their family members.



Balloons ready to be dropped.

SIDE STORY:  A story was written up in the National Journal about a different kind of party for delegates from Utah.  Merit Medical CEO, Fred Lampropoulos (of Utah) spent $10,000 on towels, toothbrushes and soap from the local Costco in Tampa to be distributed to storm victims and packaged by the Utah convention delegation.  To quote from the article: “Word of the project spread through the congregation at the Mormon church in Tampa, where Utah delegates met fellow church members from Hawaii and Arizona at Sunday services.  The goods will be distributed by the LDS Humanitarian Services, the church’s disaster network.”   I was so touched by this story.  While some people fretted about Hurricane Isaac and wondered how it would affect the convention, the Mormons went to work and put together kits to give to those who would soon find themselves without power or in short supplies of the basics. They used the day we couldn’t travel to the convention center or hold meetings there to help those who would need it very soon as Hurricane Isaac moved towards Louisiana.

 

Republican Convention -- Part 1

It’s impossible to pack all the FUN we had at the Republican National Convention in just one blog post, so I’ll take two. This first one is dedicated to the things we did “away” from the convention center.  The RNC put us up in a beautiful hotel, Safety Harbor Resort and Spa. It’s located right on the Tampa Bay, about 20 minutes from downtown Tampa.  It was perfect in every way.  Most of our meals were provided and included guest speakers and “surprise” guest speakers.  We drove to Tampa—took us 10 hours.  We drove right towards Hurricane Isaac, but then it avoided impact with Tampa and headed west.  We just had strong winds and rain. Although we drove to Tampa, buses were provided to get us everywhere we needed to go. So we walked around the beautiful little city of Safety Harbor, enjoying cupcakes and ice cream, but then took the bus to attend outings away from the hotel and to attend the actual convention.  It was all good!  If we had a bucket list, which we don’t, attending the RNC would be on it. So here's some pictures of our time in Safety Harbor.  We honestly loved every minute of it.

It took us 10 hours to drive to Tampa - well worth the drive.

Registering - yes, that's an elephant ice sculpture - Russ is ready

Love our hotel room!

Russ with Rep. Ryan Haynes, who Russ was an alternate for

Registration Room

Hurricane Isaac blew on past us.

The city of Safety Harbor renamed their Main Street for the week we were there.

I'm so proud of my husband.  He deserved this special opportunity to attend the RNC!

Surprise speaker Frank Luntz of Fox News was one of my favorite speakers - he brought these two paintings with him.

Luntz gave this one of Pres. Reagan to Chris Devaney, TN Republican Party Chairman; the other was auctioned right there.

Ready for one of many wonderful meals that were provided for us. This was a breakfast on our first day.



Appetizer for dinner in the Barnoff Theater

I practice taking a pix of myself.  :)

Our dinner group at the Barnoff Theater

Desserts were oh so good.

TN Governor Haslam posed with me.



                

Craig Romney surprised us at brunch one morning.



Stay tune for Part 2 of the RNC -- coming soon!

Russ builds me a patio roof

Our neighbors had a beautiful deck built on the back of their house.  It had a wonderful roof over it with lights and a fan.  We looked at it and thought about the fact that we needed a roof with a fan over our patio.  We got the name of their contractor and received a bid from him to build us a nice roof, but unfortunately the bid was way too high.  So we gave up the idea of having a roof over the patio.  Instead we continued on with our canopy, but then the hail storm came and destroyed the canopy, which happened to be the 2^nd one we had purchased. (they do wear out) Well time passed; we went a summer with no protection from the summer sun.   Russ had already drawn up a design for the roof we wanted. My husband is a civil engineer. He knows his stuff.  He finally decided he could build the roof himself, with a little help, and so for half the month of June and July, he worked pretty much non-stop, sweating buckets (literally buckets) every day in the 90-100 degree weather. But the results are fantastic and I am so proud of him.  His good friend, Ed Snow helped him on two mornings put up the main support posts and beam, (with help from the missionaries to lift the beam up) and he hired Jacob and Josh Wade (teenagers who live in our ward) to help him a few hours for a few days to put up the rafters and plywood on the roof. Some things just take two people. Grandson, Carter, also spent a few hours helping.  Then Russ hired David Cheverton (a professional) to put on the metal roof and he did such a great job, that Russ hired him for about two days to help put up the ceiling and trim.  Russ did all the electrical for the fan and two can lights, which just amazes me.  He did all three coats of paint and most of the in between stuff.  Here is a pictorial of the project.  If I had my daughter Lori’s talent I could make a quick little stop-motion film of it. We'll add potted flowers and other stuff as we go along, but I think it looks great.

Ed and Russ getting started



                 Wade boys help put up rafters

 Installing the plywood roof took several days

Almost finished

Metal roof installed by Dave C.

Finishing ceiling

The trim is now complete and starting to paint

Painting done and fan and can lights in place

Ta-da!!!  It's done! 

Barber Family Reunion – Part 4

So much to do and see and so little time. On the last two days we did some things in small groups, doing some cousin swapping, and of course we also did some things all together—yes all 33 of us. Some went to the Fresh Market, others to Ghirardelli Square—the list is too long. Russ and I filled up the van (remember it’s a 15 passenger) and headed to Walnut Creek, crossing the bay on the Bay Bridge. Our passengers were Brad, Susan, Andrew, Sam, Lisa, David, Tanner, and Connor. It was wonderful to see our old house at 1523 Wicklow Court, the kids’ old school, Bancroft Elementary, our old church building, and Heather’s Farm Park--favorite places from days gone by. We walked around Countrywood Shopping center which is just a very short walk from our old home there. Brad and Susan had to head home Sunday morning, so Saturday evening Russ and I gave out certificates and candy to all the grandchildren noting their great behavior during the reunion. This is a tradition, and just when I thought we were all done, my children and husband did something very sneaky.  I had no idea what they had planned. It was a TOTAL surprise. I was told that I was being given a “retirement” party since I had turned 65 this year.  Brad made a special film of my life. The background music to it was Brad and some of the grandchildren singing, “I Often Go Walking.” So of course I started crying at the start—grateful tears for this wonderful family of mine. Joel and Julie put together a Jeopardy game, which mimicked the real one to a tee. All questions taken from events in my life. Then Lisa presented me with a book filled with pages written by the grandchildren—their memories of me.  Well, this was quite enough, but there was MORE.  Lori presented me with a gift certificate from all the children for a trip to New York City.  My kids know me well. They know I love of big cities.  I can’t thank my children enough for this wonderful surprise and honor. Well, the mood was so high and there was just so much love going all around, that we adults left the teens and kids at the Broderick House, while we walked down to Chili Pies and indulged in more pie and ice cream—a perfect evening except for one mishap. See pictures below for the details. Sunday we found a LDS church fairly close to our houses and of course we talked with someone who knew someone in our ward in Knoxville. (small world) Then we all went for a walk along Lands End, where it was so clear we could see forever (as the song says). The view of the ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge were fantastic. We had perfect weather for every day of our reunion, and then Monday morning, when everyone was leaving, it rained. Perfect timing.  Great reunion.  Lasting memories. Thanks to Troy and Dan who did a lot of pre-planning and scheduling, running around, etc. that made the reunion run smoothly.

David, Lisa, Connor, Tanner, Susan, Brad, Sam,Sharlene, Andrew - in front of our old Walnut Creek home

1523 Wickow Court - Our old home

Attending church in downtown San Francisco

Allie sports her sling after falling down the stairs and injuring her shoulder

Trey, Russ, and Sharlene on the Lands End trail

View of the ocean and Golden Gate Bridge from Lands End

Brad and Sam on a trolley - one popular means of transportation

Buses - another means of getting places - Dan, Troy, & Andrew

Joel loads up his van as everyone packs to leave the reunion

 

After everyone had left the reunion and headed home, we drove back to Walnut Creek to visit some of our dear, old friends.  We lived in Walnut Creek for just nine years, and yet the memories from that time period will always hold a special place in my heart. I would love to go back and live those years all over again.  Besides spending time with some of our friends, we spent time walking through all the old haunts.  I breathed in the air of yesteryear and longed for those simpler times.

Dinner with our good friend Pao Chen - in Walnut Creek

 

Sharlene and Donna in front of Donna's house on Wicklow Court

Our good friends Paul and Martha Burgess - Walnut Creek

More good friends - Dale and Carolyn Christensen

Surprise party and tribute to me - NYC here I come!!