Grandpa's and Grandma's Long Road Trip Dec. 2011-Jan. 2012

We left the Virginian Schills and drove to North Caroline to spend a few days with Dave's family. It was fun to have Catherine's sister,Sherri,there too. Here are some of the great activities we experienced during the time we spent in Chapel Hill. We went to Old Salem. This place was settled by members of the Moravian church, a Protestant group from Bohemia and Moraavia, now part of the Czech Republic. As we walked around this interesting town we saw how the Moravians lived in the 18th and the 19th centuries, We had a yummy lunch there, I got so excited about taking a photo of our group eating that I spilled my fries and ended up with more fries because everyone was so generous in sharing their fries with me. Brian was our photographer and took a photo of the beautiful Moravian star.

One of Brian's Christmas gifts was a harness to use when he goes rock climbing. Ben had fun showing us his scooter that shoots out flames when he stops the scooter. One night for dinner we enjoyed eating North Carolina barbecue. Virginia, North Carolin and Texas have their own unique way of preparing barbecue meat. Elizabeth did a great job of painting my fingernails. Brian made grandpa and I a neat bracelet made out of parachute string. Ben got a Lego Kit for Christmas and his dad helped him put it together and made an impressive ship. We had fun playing chess with the children. We got a good view of the moon by looking through the Frantz's telescope. We had fun going to Brian's favorite place to eat. Brian ordered Pizza and we had the new experience of eating Blue Cheese Chips. It was fun going to the park and watching Ben fly his remote control plane. It was so exciting as we watched his plane fly higher and circle around. It got tense when the plane headed for the trees, but Ben was able to steer it away from crashing into the trees.

The Frantz family put on a terrific New Year's Eve party with hats, noise makers, sparkly drinks, toasting glasses, lots of pizza and chips. while we were waiting for Dave to come home, we watched the video, "17 Miracles." It made us realize the great faith and suffering the pioneers went through while crossing the plains. We made a time capsule and looked at an old one. We had fun toasting in the New Year together.

Happy Birthday to Abby, Mike and Beck!

Abby having fun with Grandpa, Mike's first day of kindergarten and Beck helping to clean out the attic.

Spending the 2011 Thanksgiving Holidays with the Britsches

Jamisen loved having a tug-a-war with Schroeder. Jeff peeled and cut up the potatoes in preparation for making his famous mashed potatoes for the Thanksgiving feast. The turkey is cooked and Jo covers it with tin foil. We all sit down to enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. We enjoyed many, many dishes of delicious food that Jo had fixed for us.
I was the lucky winner of the jar of M&Ms. I guessed 780 and there were 781 in the jar! What luck! I don't know how to get the text next to the photos so just enjoy the pictures. One of my favorite photos is the one of Jamisen with his arm around Schroeder! We stood in line to taste the famous Voodoo doughnuts. We had fun visiting the Tillamook Cheese factory and tasting different types of cheese and eating ice cream. It was fun to squeeze into the orange bus. The beach ones are at Cannon Beach in Oregon. The hike at the end is a beautiful path by the Britsches' home. Jeff looks hilarious with his moss mustache! The weather was a lot better than what had been forecast. we even got some sunshine and a view of Mt. Hood. A big thanks to the Britsches for showing us such a good time. I included one more photo of the Voodoo doughnut experience. It is such a great one with Jamisen and Jeff sharing one of these famous doughnuts.

Our final meal together was eating a delicious German dinner.

Happy Birthday Rexbo

I am two months behind in posting this, but just wanted to wish Rex a very happy 7th birthday!  We love you very much! {the cake is a Swiss army knife in case you can't tell. :)}  Rex got one for his birthday. {just a small one}

Finches hold Monterey Parrots

Livi, Rex, Lucy and Jack had the exciting experience of having the Monterey parrots perch on their arms. By looking at the expressions on the children's faces, you can tell they had a range of emotions as they participated in this activity. In downtown Monterey, the parrot man gives people the opportunity to hold his birds. If we can't have the monkey at least we can have the parrots.

Jack turns one!!!

Happy Birthday Jacka Boo!!  We love you!!