Jo took us to Bayou Bend in Houston. It is the former home of Ima Hogg, a famous philanthropist. She had a great collection of American antiques dating from 1620 to 1870. She never married so gave her home which she made into a museum and the surrounding gardens to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Her father put in his will that they should not sell their home (not Bayou Bend- the home that her and her brothers grew up in) until 15 years after he died. He thought there would be oil discovered there. He was right and the Hogg's fortune came from oil on their land.











It was great to go through her home and see all the treasures and learn how people lived in 1620 to 1870.






























Hunter and Karsyn in Ima Hogg's beautiful gardens. We were told that this area is filled with beautiful flowers in the Spring.














Grandpa getting a haircut from Jo.

Lots of Food!

We went to Menchies, a frozen yogurt place that has so many flavors. You take a cup and choose what delicious concoctions you want to put into your cup.










I enjoyed eating my "Texas Chow Down." The baked potatoes had so many wonderful goodies piled on top of it even some Texas barbecue meat. I enjoyed every bite!





We went to Carl's Barbecue, a eating place close by Hockley. Rich's mom and Beck also tackled a "Texas Chow Down." Rich's dad and mom are moving back to Texas and they came to the U.S. to look for homes. If they find a home, they will leave Australia in the next month or so.

Carl, Jo, Hunter and Karsyn meet us here to say good-bye. Carl's brother, James came too. James was in Texas to run the Houston marathon.










Beck fixed us some great meals. She is wearing the apron that Mary Ann made for her to use on her mission.

Welcoming in 2012 with the Frantz Family!

As you can see by the photos we had a great New Year's Eve Party with Dave, Catherine, Brian, Elizabeth and Ben. We had hats, noise makers, drinks, lots of pizza and chips. We had a fun time playing the candy game and making a time capsule.I even did my witch laugh that traumatized the Frantz family.

Trip to North Carolina to visit Dave's Family

Ben was anxious to fly his remote control plane that he got for Christmas. We went to a near-by park where there was a big open space. It was very exciting when Ben flew it high and made it circle around the field. We all got a little nervous when the plane headed for the tress but Ben was able to steer it in the opposite direction and avoid any crash.







































We enjoyed going to Brian's favorite eating place. Brian ordered Pizza and we had the new experience of tasting Blue Cheese Chips.


















We had the neat experience of getting a close up view of the moon by looking through the Frantz family's telescope.

Trip to Dave's home in Chapel Hill

I didn't realize that I could not post more then 5 photos on a post so my effort to put the photos in their right order was destroyed. Also all the text explaining our activities in North Carolina is in my first post, so I will try to put some repeat text in this post and other to follow.


Elizabeth painting Grandma's fingernails. She did such a great job using two colors. I felt pretty fancy! Elizabeth painted her fingernails too.

Grandpa enjoying a game of chess with Brian.








Ben received a Lego kit for Christmas. He did a great job of constructing it with a little help from his dad.

Brian wearing his rock climbing harness that he got for Christmas. He loves to go rock climbing.

Ben showing us his scooter that shoots out flames when he puts on the brakes.

Brian making bracelets for us out of parachute string. You can see what a great job he does of creating them.

We enjoyed lunch in Old Salem.

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.