A true pro- player. Just checking to make sure it is still okay!!! He must have picked that up from one of the Bees games.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Bears #1
Brad had his first Tee Ball game today. We were so glad the weather cooperated for a little so the kids would not get a rain check for the game. He had a riot and made lots of new friends.
A true pro- player. Just checking to make sure it is still okay!!! He must have picked that up from one of the Bees games.
A true pro- player. Just checking to make sure it is still okay!!! He must have picked that up from one of the Bees games.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Deutschland Chapter III
Sunday May 17th
We drove into downtown Frankfurt. Everything was closed on Sunday. Even the malls, shops, and Bakeries were doors were shut. There was a surreal hush over the entire city. I wish America would catch on to this little trend. Everyone was at home. We had the whole place to ourselves. Randy was relieved to not have to drive in all of the traffic. We found great parking and walked everywhere. We walked out onto the Bridge over the Main River. Because it was Sunday all of the bells from every church were ringing. I will miss the music from the church bells. I have never heard anything like it before.
After lunch we headed to Worms. A city Randy served in for a few months. It was Christi Himmelfahrt ( the celebration of Christ’s ascension) so almost the whole city was at mass. We had to wait until it was over to walk around the cathedral. Out of all of the cathedrals we saw this one was my favorite. It was so old. Maybe it was the incense lingering in the air or a the congregation but I was really in awe when I walked in. Most of the cathedrals were so elaborate and ornate that it was almost distracting and sometimes disturbing. This one was uncomplicated and simple. All of the gardens and stone were aged. This was also where Martin Luther stood trial for challenging the authority of the church. I wanted to stay there but we still had a lot of ground to cover that day.
We visited Randy’s branch house and touched base with the Busam family that Randy worked with. Their family was again so nice. The oldest daughter remembered Randy and pulled pictures out of her diary of Randy giving her piggy back rides. She remembered Randy as being the fun missionary. I got a kick out of that. Sister Busam injured her ankle so the girls made us a strudel and we sat outside and visited. Brother Busam requested that we send him beef jerky and Bullseye BBQ sauce. I got a kick out of that as well.
That night we met up with our friends Morgan and Tiko who both served a mission in Germany. We stayed the night in a guest house in a little village. It was EVERY cliché that I had in my mind about Germany; the beautiful homes, gardens, right down to the old German Farmers. It was so quaint and old-fashioned. Even the key to the door was a skeleton key. I LOVED it. We stayed up late with Morgan and Tiko recounting the events of our separate trips thus far.
The view from our bedroom window.
We drove into downtown Frankfurt. Everything was closed on Sunday. Even the malls, shops, and Bakeries were doors were shut. There was a surreal hush over the entire city. I wish America would catch on to this little trend. Everyone was at home. We had the whole place to ourselves. Randy was relieved to not have to drive in all of the traffic. We found great parking and walked everywhere. We walked out onto the Bridge over the Main River. Because it was Sunday all of the bells from every church were ringing. I will miss the music from the church bells. I have never heard anything like it before.
After lunch we headed to Worms. A city Randy served in for a few months. It was Christi Himmelfahrt ( the celebration of Christ’s ascension) so almost the whole city was at mass. We had to wait until it was over to walk around the cathedral. Out of all of the cathedrals we saw this one was my favorite. It was so old. Maybe it was the incense lingering in the air or a the congregation but I was really in awe when I walked in. Most of the cathedrals were so elaborate and ornate that it was almost distracting and sometimes disturbing. This one was uncomplicated and simple. All of the gardens and stone were aged. This was also where Martin Luther stood trial for challenging the authority of the church. I wanted to stay there but we still had a lot of ground to cover that day.
We visited Randy’s branch house and touched base with the Busam family that Randy worked with. Their family was again so nice. The oldest daughter remembered Randy and pulled pictures out of her diary of Randy giving her piggy back rides. She remembered Randy as being the fun missionary. I got a kick out of that. Sister Busam injured her ankle so the girls made us a strudel and we sat outside and visited. Brother Busam requested that we send him beef jerky and Bullseye BBQ sauce. I got a kick out of that as well.
That night we met up with our friends Morgan and Tiko who both served a mission in Germany. We stayed the night in a guest house in a little village. It was EVERY cliché that I had in my mind about Germany; the beautiful homes, gardens, right down to the old German Farmers. It was so quaint and old-fashioned. Even the key to the door was a skeleton key. I LOVED it. We stayed up late with Morgan and Tiko recounting the events of our separate trips thus far.
The view from our bedroom window.
Monday, June 8, 2009
A good remedy for homesickness
Since moving here I have been completely thrilled. I love the neighborhood, the house and just about everything. That being said I get tinges of homesickness for family now and again. To cure my illness I begged Tim , Kamie, Matt and Tori to come and spend the weekend with us. Lucky for me they agreed. They brought their pillows and their toothbrushes and we had a big sleep over. It really did my soul good. We hired a babysitter and went to dinner and ice cream.
Anyone who needs a weekend away is welcome here. I love the company and you will love the country.
We also received some great news. Matt FINALLY proposed to Tori. We are so eager to have Tori join our family. She is a gem and Matt adores her. We can’t wait. We love you Tori and Matt.
Anyone who needs a weekend away is welcome here. I love the company and you will love the country.
We also received some great news. Matt FINALLY proposed to Tori. We are so eager to have Tori join our family. She is a gem and Matt adores her. We can’t wait. We love you Tori and Matt.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Germany Chapter II
Saturday May 16th
I woke up early on Saturday morning to the sound of a thousand birds. I sat in the window in awe. It was still sprinkling and the air was so fresh. I was ready to go and explore, however it was hard to get going because I was addicted to the intoxicating aroma of the air. Randy told me that when he would go and knock doors as a missionary all of the old ladies would lean out of their windows and stare at the missionaries. I think he was mistaken. I don’t think they were ogling at the missionaries they couldn’t help but sit in their windows. After leaning out the window for quite some time I jumped in the shower. Everything was so different; all the knobs, fixtures, and lights. It took me a minute to figure out how to flush the toilet.
On the way out we stopped at a bakery and I indulged in a tasty strudel, and then drove to Fulda. We walked around the fuss for a while and Randy showed me one of the palaces. We could climb up to a tower and over look the entire city. It was stunning. After that we went into the Fulda Dom(cathedral). I have never been inside a cathedral before and was completely shocked at how huge it was. The ceilings were so high. We walked around the palace gardens. There were beautiful gardens everywhere. Everything about Germany is manicured. Even the open space and forest are manicured. One of my favorite things were the perfect little fields of flowers. The flowers were in bloom and the yellow field was so bright I had to make Randy pull over to take a picture.
Later in the afternoon we caught up with the Avanesians a member family from Randy’s mission. They invited us over to have dinner. They are from Armenia so she made us Armenian food. It was so good. I loved the meat with the flat bread. The two older girls Ani and Rima remembered Randy and were so excited to see him. They were adorable. They spoke English too so it helped me a lot. We ate dinner played games and then watched Euro Vision. (Europe’s version of American Idol.) Of course we were rooting for the Armenian singers. We stayed until about Midnight laughing talking and catching up. When we were about to leave we exchanged emails and the girls asked Randy about his Facebook account. They about died when they found out he didn’t have one. They gave him a really hard time about that. The first thing Randy did when he got home was open a Facebook account. It made me laugh. I think Randy and I are the last people on the planet to get an account. I will miss this family dearly. They were so loving and welcoming. I can see why Randy was so close to them on his mission. I hope to see them again soon.
We spent the night in Fulda. I slept so good that night. Good thing too because Sunday was going to be another busy day.
I woke up early on Saturday morning to the sound of a thousand birds. I sat in the window in awe. It was still sprinkling and the air was so fresh. I was ready to go and explore, however it was hard to get going because I was addicted to the intoxicating aroma of the air. Randy told me that when he would go and knock doors as a missionary all of the old ladies would lean out of their windows and stare at the missionaries. I think he was mistaken. I don’t think they were ogling at the missionaries they couldn’t help but sit in their windows. After leaning out the window for quite some time I jumped in the shower. Everything was so different; all the knobs, fixtures, and lights. It took me a minute to figure out how to flush the toilet.
On the way out we stopped at a bakery and I indulged in a tasty strudel, and then drove to Fulda. We walked around the fuss for a while and Randy showed me one of the palaces. We could climb up to a tower and over look the entire city. It was stunning. After that we went into the Fulda Dom(cathedral). I have never been inside a cathedral before and was completely shocked at how huge it was. The ceilings were so high. We walked around the palace gardens. There were beautiful gardens everywhere. Everything about Germany is manicured. Even the open space and forest are manicured. One of my favorite things were the perfect little fields of flowers. The flowers were in bloom and the yellow field was so bright I had to make Randy pull over to take a picture.
Later in the afternoon we caught up with the Avanesians a member family from Randy’s mission. They invited us over to have dinner. They are from Armenia so she made us Armenian food. It was so good. I loved the meat with the flat bread. The two older girls Ani and Rima remembered Randy and were so excited to see him. They were adorable. They spoke English too so it helped me a lot. We ate dinner played games and then watched Euro Vision. (Europe’s version of American Idol.) Of course we were rooting for the Armenian singers. We stayed until about Midnight laughing talking and catching up. When we were about to leave we exchanged emails and the girls asked Randy about his Facebook account. They about died when they found out he didn’t have one. They gave him a really hard time about that. The first thing Randy did when he got home was open a Facebook account. It made me laugh. I think Randy and I are the last people on the planet to get an account. I will miss this family dearly. They were so loving and welcoming. I can see why Randy was so close to them on his mission. I hope to see them again soon.
We spent the night in Fulda. I slept so good that night. Good thing too because Sunday was going to be another busy day.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Catch up...and Relax
This last week has been so fun to actually live in a house and actually do things that real families do together. My kids have had so much fresh mountain air!!!
I started my new job in the Operating Room. I love the new girls I work with. It is still really hard to be the new girl in a new place and new job, but I know that with time I will feel more comfortable and confident. I am so thankful I am able to work in such an economic stressful time. I love getting off in the early afternoon and spending the rest of the night with my family.
Saturday night we drove down the street and came across a canyon in our BACKYARD!! I LOVE living right against a mountain. We drove to the top and found some cool trails and places to camp. We can literally pull the trailer for 5 minutes and be on vacation. I think we will be saving on the gasoline bill this summer.
Sorry about the blurry pics. We were a little unprepared and only had the camera phone.
We unpacked the kids rooms first so they would have a place to play. Even though they have their own rooms they prefer to be together. They have slept and played in the same room since Claire was born so it has been quite an adjustment to separate them. Brad is so good to his little sister even though she is a little pill to Brad.
We have been eating a lot of fatboys since moving here. I love that the home of the famous ice cream sandwich and creamies are a small drive away. I can’t wait to visit the Pepperidge Farm and the Cheese factories around here.
Brad has been begging us to take his training wheels off his bike since last summer. We have been so neglectful and found every excuse not to take them off. .. Once you take them off you have to be by his bike-side 24/7 if you know what I mean. Randy took them off for him on Wed and he was an automatic pro. He needed almost NO coaching. Shame on us for waiting so long. Brad is really enjoying the new freedom of only 2 wheels. We have to drag him in the house every night.
Tuesday night Cache was hit with a gnarly rain storm. I haven’t seen a summer storm like it in years. There was so much lightning, the thunder never let up. We sat on our porch and enjoyed about a 30 minute show. Randy even caught some of the lightning on camera.
The electricity in the air make my arm hairs stick straight up. It was friggin cool!!!
I started my new job in the Operating Room. I love the new girls I work with. It is still really hard to be the new girl in a new place and new job, but I know that with time I will feel more comfortable and confident. I am so thankful I am able to work in such an economic stressful time. I love getting off in the early afternoon and spending the rest of the night with my family.
Saturday night we drove down the street and came across a canyon in our BACKYARD!! I LOVE living right against a mountain. We drove to the top and found some cool trails and places to camp. We can literally pull the trailer for 5 minutes and be on vacation. I think we will be saving on the gasoline bill this summer.
Sorry about the blurry pics. We were a little unprepared and only had the camera phone.
We unpacked the kids rooms first so they would have a place to play. Even though they have their own rooms they prefer to be together. They have slept and played in the same room since Claire was born so it has been quite an adjustment to separate them. Brad is so good to his little sister even though she is a little pill to Brad.
We have been eating a lot of fatboys since moving here. I love that the home of the famous ice cream sandwich and creamies are a small drive away. I can’t wait to visit the Pepperidge Farm and the Cheese factories around here.
Brad has been begging us to take his training wheels off his bike since last summer. We have been so neglectful and found every excuse not to take them off. .. Once you take them off you have to be by his bike-side 24/7 if you know what I mean. Randy took them off for him on Wed and he was an automatic pro. He needed almost NO coaching. Shame on us for waiting so long. Brad is really enjoying the new freedom of only 2 wheels. We have to drag him in the house every night.
Tuesday night Cache was hit with a gnarly rain storm. I haven’t seen a summer storm like it in years. There was so much lightning, the thunder never let up. We sat on our porch and enjoyed about a 30 minute show. Randy even caught some of the lightning on camera.
The electricity in the air make my arm hairs stick straight up. It was friggin cool!!!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
We have internet!!!!
I didn’t realize how heavily I depended on the internet until I didn’t have it for several weeks. The sabbatical was lovely and wonderful, but it is nice to be sitting at my computer reconnecting with real life and real schedules.
Several long awaited changes have happened to our little family and I am so thankful to be where I am. I don’t want to forget a single minute of it so I feel an urgency to record all of it here on my online diary. It is impossible to cram it all into one simple post so over the next several days I will have to recollect the last month in episodes.
...stay tuned...
Several long awaited changes have happened to our little family and I am so thankful to be where I am. I don’t want to forget a single minute of it so I feel an urgency to record all of it here on my online diary. It is impossible to cram it all into one simple post so over the next several days I will have to recollect the last month in episodes.
...stay tuned...
Deutschland Chapter I
Departure: Thursday May 14th 2009
The weekend before we flew to Germany we decided to get everything out of Steve and Kari’s condo so they could get back to some sense of normalcy. We moved everything over the weekend and came back to Salt Lake. We spent the next few nights at Randy’s parent’s house in preparation for Lance and Kendra’s wedding.
The wedding was so beautiful and nice. Claire LOVED getting all dressed up in her flower girl dress. She sat in the mirror and said “pee-e” (pretty). It was really cute. (pictures of the wedding to come...soon...I promise) My mom and dad came to the reception and snagged the kids so Randy and I could help clean up and get packed for the next morning. ( I can’t believe my mom agreed to take the kids for 10 days while we traveled Europe. She is a saint!!!!)
(Randy and I at the SLC airport. This is the last time my hair is curled or blown dry. Randy laughed at me when I packed my blow dryer in the suitcase the night before. He gently reminded me the outlets and the voltage were totally different in Europe. Silly me.)
Departure: Thursday May 14th 2009
Thursday morning we flew out of SLC and had a quick Layover in NJ. We then flew all night into Frankfurt. My plan was to sleep while I was on the plane because we landed in Frankfurt Friday morning 9:00AM. Plan did NOT work. I could not get comfy for the life of me. Once we landed sleep didn’t matter too much because adrenaline kept me going. I was so excited to be in Europe. We quickly picked up our luggage and got our rental car. Thank goodness we got a car with a Navigation system. There is no way I could have co-piloted Randy in Europe. The roads wind and wind and wind. I swore we drove in huge circles sometimes. Plus Randy would laugh every time I tried to pronounce a street name. I then had my first experience on the Autoban. I had white knuckles the entire time. It is true there really is NO speed limit. We were flying…and cars were still passing us like we were cold tar.
(Randy eating bakery goods flying down the Autoban. Can you hear my anxiety through this picture. I was terrified.)
We stayed the first night in the guest house at the temple in Fredricksdorf. We got there before check in so we decided to go to Randy’s first area in Dauernheim. We drove around and saw his first apartment. We then tried our luck and knocked on the Frenkles door (of one of the members). Thank goodness they were home. Their family was adorable. They were so kind, warm, and welcoming. Thank goodness they spoke English so Randy didn’t have to translate the entire time. They introduced me to my first Apfel Schrole (A carbonated apple juice). It was different but I really liked it. We sat and chatted for a couple of hours. We asked the kids what they wanted us to send them from America and the teenage daughter said all she wanted was chap stick and cool-aid. It made me laugh.
(Randy and Bjorn Frenkle)
We headed back to the guest house and walked around the village. I didn’t realize but every village and city has a fuss or a city center where cars cannot drive. Kind of like the gateway but NOTHING like the gateway. They are filled with bakeries little shops and cobblestone. The smell alone was overwhelming. We stopped at a Turkish shop and ordered a Doner. I guess the missionaries ate them all of the time. They put a huge chunk of meat on a skewer and broil it then shave it off into a pita like bread. It was REALLY good. I asked what kind of meat it was and I never got a straight answer. The answer in Germany is ALWAYS mixed meat. I really have no idea what I ate during my trip. Then we stopped at a bakery and bought some really good bread for our dinner later that night. On our way back to the hotel I got a little emotional. I don’t know if it was the jet lag or the culture shock or being completely out of my element. I wasn’t sad or homesick… I just didn’t realize how different everything would be. I am sure it was the lack of sleep mostly.
( Walking around the fuss(city center) I couldn't get over how beautiful everything was)
We got back to the guest house and crashed. We opened the window all the way and listened to the rain as we drifted off to sleep my first night in a foreign land.
(Frankfurt Temple)
The weekend before we flew to Germany we decided to get everything out of Steve and Kari’s condo so they could get back to some sense of normalcy. We moved everything over the weekend and came back to Salt Lake. We spent the next few nights at Randy’s parent’s house in preparation for Lance and Kendra’s wedding.
The wedding was so beautiful and nice. Claire LOVED getting all dressed up in her flower girl dress. She sat in the mirror and said “pee-e” (pretty). It was really cute. (pictures of the wedding to come...soon...I promise) My mom and dad came to the reception and snagged the kids so Randy and I could help clean up and get packed for the next morning. ( I can’t believe my mom agreed to take the kids for 10 days while we traveled Europe. She is a saint!!!!)
(Randy and I at the SLC airport. This is the last time my hair is curled or blown dry. Randy laughed at me when I packed my blow dryer in the suitcase the night before. He gently reminded me the outlets and the voltage were totally different in Europe. Silly me.)
Departure: Thursday May 14th 2009
Thursday morning we flew out of SLC and had a quick Layover in NJ. We then flew all night into Frankfurt. My plan was to sleep while I was on the plane because we landed in Frankfurt Friday morning 9:00AM. Plan did NOT work. I could not get comfy for the life of me. Once we landed sleep didn’t matter too much because adrenaline kept me going. I was so excited to be in Europe. We quickly picked up our luggage and got our rental car. Thank goodness we got a car with a Navigation system. There is no way I could have co-piloted Randy in Europe. The roads wind and wind and wind. I swore we drove in huge circles sometimes. Plus Randy would laugh every time I tried to pronounce a street name. I then had my first experience on the Autoban. I had white knuckles the entire time. It is true there really is NO speed limit. We were flying…and cars were still passing us like we were cold tar.
(Randy eating bakery goods flying down the Autoban. Can you hear my anxiety through this picture. I was terrified.)
We stayed the first night in the guest house at the temple in Fredricksdorf. We got there before check in so we decided to go to Randy’s first area in Dauernheim. We drove around and saw his first apartment. We then tried our luck and knocked on the Frenkles door (of one of the members). Thank goodness they were home. Their family was adorable. They were so kind, warm, and welcoming. Thank goodness they spoke English so Randy didn’t have to translate the entire time. They introduced me to my first Apfel Schrole (A carbonated apple juice). It was different but I really liked it. We sat and chatted for a couple of hours. We asked the kids what they wanted us to send them from America and the teenage daughter said all she wanted was chap stick and cool-aid. It made me laugh.
(Randy and Bjorn Frenkle)
We headed back to the guest house and walked around the village. I didn’t realize but every village and city has a fuss or a city center where cars cannot drive. Kind of like the gateway but NOTHING like the gateway. They are filled with bakeries little shops and cobblestone. The smell alone was overwhelming. We stopped at a Turkish shop and ordered a Doner. I guess the missionaries ate them all of the time. They put a huge chunk of meat on a skewer and broil it then shave it off into a pita like bread. It was REALLY good. I asked what kind of meat it was and I never got a straight answer. The answer in Germany is ALWAYS mixed meat. I really have no idea what I ate during my trip. Then we stopped at a bakery and bought some really good bread for our dinner later that night. On our way back to the hotel I got a little emotional. I don’t know if it was the jet lag or the culture shock or being completely out of my element. I wasn’t sad or homesick… I just didn’t realize how different everything would be. I am sure it was the lack of sleep mostly.
( Walking around the fuss(city center) I couldn't get over how beautiful everything was)
We got back to the guest house and crashed. We opened the window all the way and listened to the rain as we drifted off to sleep my first night in a foreign land.
(Frankfurt Temple)
Sunday, May 3, 2009
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