Trip to See Jared, Heather and the Girls

After work on Friday we packed up and headed down to Jared's for a little R & R.  We had a pleasant trip, but arrived too late to see them on Friday.  Saturday morning we got together for breakfast at a wonderful new place they had found.  The food was terrific and there was lots of it.  Cherry had an omelet that must have weighed at least two pounds. We finished all of it off and then drove over to a park that runs along the New River.  It was very nice.  Sophie played on the equipment they have there and Hanna and I took a walk over to the river to see what we could see.  It was beautiful, but kind of chilly.  The sun was out, but there was a cool breeze.

Unfortunately we forgot our camera and so we have a few pictures that were taken by Heather with her phone.

While we were a Jared's resting up from breakfast, we went out and started the new tractor.  It is a 70's model David Brown tractor with about 76 horsepower.  It has a front end loader and a power take-off on the rear.  Jared uses it to work on his driveway and other chores around the house.  He let me drive it - woo hoo, it was great.  I didn't even hit anything.  Then we went down and uncovered the boat and hooked up the battery charger to get it ready for the spring.  The picture above is Sophie driving the boat.

Heather shared some pictures she had taken of Sophie.   




Sophie and Jared asleep on the couch.





Sophie practicing signing for a dinner they had at a sushi place.



Sophie rooting for her favorite team.



In the afternoon we went over to a minature golf place and played 18 holes.  We got a total of two holes in one, so we were very proud of ourselves.  We decided that we needed to reward ourselves with a dinner at the Texas Roadhouse resturant.  We got there before the crowd and so we didn't have to wait too long.  Dinner was great.



Jared, Heather and Sophie after consuming mass quantities of food.



Grandma, Hannah, and Grandpa after eating way too much food.


We had a great meal and the company was terrific.  The girls were a lot of fun.














After a nice evening talking and sharing tall tales, we all headed off to dreamland and then Sunday morning Heather and Jared cooked breakfast for us.  Waffles, eggs, turkey bacon were downed in large quantities.  It was fun and we really enjoyed it.

It was such fun to spend a little time with them.  The girls are growing up and they are just a joy to be around.  We wish they were closer and we could visit more often.

Christmas - 2010

Christmas 2010 was terrific.  The weather was cold, cold. cold.  It even seemed as though we might have a white Christmas.  But at the last moment, it just turned cold with a few flurries.  Jared and Heather had decided early on that they were going to go to Disney World for Christmas.  So we have included a few pictures that they shared with us before they left.  They had a wonderful time and Santa found them there.  When we get some pictures of their trip we will post some of them.  

Christmas eve, Jonathan and his family came over and we had dinner together, played with the kids and then sent them home to get rested up for the big day.  It was a great evening. 

Christmas morning, Cherry and I got up and opened our presents, had some breakfast and then got cleaned up to go over to Jonathan and Nicole's.  We got there about 11:00 and the kid were already enjoying all the bounties that Santa had brought.

As we walk into the house the first thing to greet us was a hot wheels track - my favorite.

Jax was heavily into her "My Ponies" and having a great time.



Michael got a remote control truck from Grandma and Grandpa.



Jax got two soft kittens from us.

Cherry tries her hand at runnig the truck into things.



Jax and Nicole open a box.



Jonathan, Nicole and Cherry fixing lunch.

Michael with his new bike and Jax with her new scooter and pads.



Jax caught on quick and scooted around.



Michael had the pedaling and braking down pat.



Jax runs out of steam.




Before Sophie left for Disney World, they had a lot of show.






Hannah and Sophie got to see Santa before they left.






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.