WEBSTER FAMILY

My father-in-law recently went on a search for the best carrot cake ever. And boy did he ever find it! After he tasted it, he got the recipe and then asked me to make it for him. Oh my goodness--I was amazed!!!!! I'll post the recipe once I find my copy of it. :)

La Palma truly is "La Isla Bonita"! It was a great island to finish our trip on and to celebrate Ben's birthday! We spent lots of time walking around and spent Monday morning hiking in La Caldera. It was absolutely spectacular! We enjoyed dinner on the beach with the LDS missionaries who just happened to be walking by as we sat down. It was a lot of fun for Ben to hear what the mission is like now, having served 11 years ago. One major difference: the two Elders were the only two Elders on the island of La Palma--when Ben served there were about 10. The mission is much smaller now and has been incorporated in the the Spain Malaga Mission--it is no longer it's own mission. On our way to the airport we also drove through San Pedro so that we could say we visited the city now famous because it is spotlighted in Madonna's song, "La Isla Bonita" (Last night I dreamt of San Pedro...)

Anyways, here are some photos of truly the most beautiful island in the Canaries:

We flew from Tenerife to Gran Canaria via Binter Airlines. What a great little airline~such service and you are only with them for such a short time. Some of the US carries could learn a lot! On a half hour flight you got a few newspaper, free water, a 'Binter' bar (kinda like a kudos bar), a piece of hard candy, and the stewardess were just so nice!

Anyways, we stayed in a hotel on Gran Canaria right near the ocean and enjoyed our short stay. In true Spanish tradition, the one thing we really wanted to see (the Christopher Columbus museum) was closed for absoletly no reason. Columbus' last port before embarking to the US was Gran Canaria! We were a little bummed about that but enjoyed all the other things Gran Canaria had to offer.

One of my favorite activities was visiting the city of Galdar where they uncovered an entire Guanche community. The Guanche's were the aboriginies of the island and were nearly oblitereated by the Spanish conquistadors approximately 30 years before Columbus sailed. (Not that long ago!) Anyways, it was fun to learn more about the people who had once inhabited the islands and they were very different than many civilizations--so it was fascinating!

Anyways, here are some shots:

Ben was really sad that we were too early for Corpus Christi. But while visiting La Ortava we at least got to see the outlines of what will soon be filled with sand and flower petals:

I don't know why the cheapest flight to the Canary Islands was on Aer Lingus (the Irish National Airway) but it was. So our trip started with a direct flight from San Francisco to Dublin Ireland. We had about 5 hours for a layover so we jumped on a bus and headed into Dublin to enjoy some fresh (wet) air and lunch. We hung out near Trinity College for the afternoon and it was beautiful!

May 5th. We arrived in Antelope, CA. Anybody know where the passports are??? (We're leaving the country in 10 days!!!)

May 6th. We started unpacking boxes to find the passports. Box 3, labeled, "Pots and Pans." I open it and find some of my office stuff. Continue digging--ahh, the passports. Big stress off the shoulders--we can leave the country!!! PHEW!!

After graduation, everything was a whirlwind! We packed as much as possible and then ran off to lots of different activities: Global Gala, Taliesin West (Frank Lloyd Wright Museum), dinner with the Bassetts, etc. There was just so much we had to do before we left Arizona. Here are some pics of our last AZ adventures!!Global Gala! Graduation party--sorry we didn't get a really good pic but at least we snapped one! We had a great time seeing so many of our friends before heading off--especially since we had to leave 3 days after graduation!

What a whirlwind we've been caught in! Graduation has come and gone just as Arizona seems to have. The week was crazy! But we made it to graduation--and after only 3 hours of waiting, we were able to watch Ben get his Masters of Business Administration Diploma. (Well, the cover any way). Mom & Dad Webster and Dad Carter (although not pictured--I'm not sure what camera was used...) were able to join in the festivities and chaos of graduating and moving. Thank you to everyone who helped over the past few weeks with everything--getting healthy, packing, cleaning, feeding us, giving us hugs, etc. We really appreciate all the love and support!