Christmas - 2010

THANKSGIVING- 2010

Thanksgiving was great this year.  Heather and Jared and the kids came up and stayed at Jonathan and Nicole's new house.  They had not seen it before, so they wanted to stay there and help out with the dinner.  Heather brought her turkey roaster and did the turkey and the gravy - it was really good.  Nicole did much  of the other cooking.  Cherry made a couple of pumpkin pies.  While the food was cooking, the men and children goofed off and played.  A good time was had by all.  It was wonderful to have our whole family together.  There was a great deal of love as we gathered together on this day of thanksgiving.

In all of the festivities, we thought also about Chris and how much we appreciated and loved him during the short time that he was with us. 

Friday, Jonathan, Jared and their families spent a day of shopping, playing, and enjoying each other.  The boys took the kids to the air and space museum out at Dulles airport where they all had a great time.

  Cherry and I had to work in the mission office.  We had fourteen new missionaries arrive in two waves Wednesday and Thursday.

  In the evening, we all got together again and went to Logan's Roadhouse for dinner.

Friday Night at Logan's Road House for Dinner.

Jared enjoyed his beef.

Michael and Jax playing on Thanksgiving.

Sophie - the kitty.

Hannah, Jax and Grandpa playing a game.

Jonathan resting up for the big meal.

Jax sings to us.

Nicole and Cherry tending the food.

Hannah is really growing up.

Sophie in the stick and leaf hut than Michael built.

Dinner is served.



Too much food causes sleep and resting.



Vacation to Hilton Head, South Carolina

A friend of our was kind enough to let us use their time share in Hilton Head, South Carolina for a week.  So we jumped in the car on Thursday afternoon and headed off.  We drove about half way and then stayed the night in a small place along I-95.  We pulled into Hilton Head about 3:00pm on Friday and were able to check into our rooms as soon as we got there.  The place that we stayed is Marriott's  Barony Beach Club.  It is spectacular.  The grounds and facilities are first rate and just beautiful.  We had been concerned about the weather, but it couldn't have been more perfect for us.  We started off with a little tour of the rooms and the facilities and beach.

This is the kitchen.

A shot of the living and dining area.  The place had three flat screen tv's.  One in each bed room and in the living area.

This was bedroom two with the two queen size beds and a bathroom.

The master bedroom with a separate shower and toilet area and a whirlpool tub.

Cherry at the beach.  It was beautiful with the white sand that doesn't get hot.
The beach was very wide and hard in the middle, so a lot of people rode their bikes along the beach.  The beach was probably 150 feet wide and the waves were very mild, so it was great for kids.

People brought lots of toys for the beach.

Our rooms were in this part of the complex.

One of the four pools with the snack bar behind.

Cherry and I had worked out a schedule. I played golf on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday.  Of course Hilton Head Island hosts some 24 golf courses, so we will have to return to play the other 21.  On the other days, we rode our bikes - very flat - great for bikes.  On Tuesday, we schedule a kayak tour and spent most of the day doing that.  It was great fun, we saw porpoises and many jelly fish.  The jelly fish were called cannon ball jelly fish and that is exactly what they looked like.  They were not the type that sting you and so we could pick them up.

This is the dock area and lighthouse at Harbor Town in Sea Island Resort.  This is where we got our kayaks and took that tour.

While playing golf I did notice that there were lots of small ponds and lakes on many of the holes.  Most of the ponds had many turtles and all had one or more alligators.

Turtles basking in the sun.

A small alligator taking a snooze by the side of the golf course.

On Thursday we took a boat over to Savanah, Georgia.  The trip took about 1 and 1/2 hours and we saw a lot of porpoises and beautiful birds along the way.

This was the boat that we took.

Porpoises

A large container ship going under the bridge that crosses the Savanah River.

The pirates house.  A bar and house of other suspicious activities.

The oldest tree in Savanah.

The light house at Harbor Town as we returned from Savanah.

The smallest house in Savanah.  It's for sale - $278 K.

Kings Dominion Visit

Jonathan, Nicole, Michael and Jax went to Kings Dominion Park a short time ago.  The park is about 40 miles south of where they live.  The weather was perfect and the park was not too crowded and they all had a great time.



Jax and one of her new friends.




I love Snoopy.





Michael has finally learned to drive and had a great time.  Can I borrow the car dad??




So many places to go and so little time.





Flying is great.





Jax enjoys driving while Michael chills out.



Mom and Jax having a great time together.



Michael and Jax about to take off.



My legs are too long.

Jax thinks hers are just the right length.

School Begins

The 30th of August was a great day.  Hannah started back to school.  She is in middle school and has a great teacher and many friends.  She really is looking forward to this new school year. 

Sophia is smiling because she starts school this year and is very excited about her teacher and all the new friends she will have. 

Hannah and Sophie - Looking good!!

Sophie working on her first project.

Sophie

The name board.

Can you tell Sophie is excited to go to school??

Hannah is ready for school.

We need a bigger backpack.

Our princess holding all the other princesses.