Conference, Easter and Everything In Between!

Hello blogland!  I must journal the events of the last several weeks.  It was another busy two weeks of being "on the road again."  We took off from Spokane and headed south, making many stops on our journey.  So, here is the replay:

March 28th:  Left Spokane to head to Mt. Home Idaho to visit the Nielson's and Sheri.  We were pulling a snowmobile trailer as Brent had a weekend trip planned with his brother Kurt and the boys.  A couple of hours outside of Boise we blew a tire on the trailer!  So great!  No worries, however, as ever-ready Brent was well prepared with tools, a spare, etc.  I kind of think he enjoys these little emergencies in an odd way as it gives him a chance to prove his boy-scout mantra of preparedness.  After a short delay, we arrived to spend the night and the following day with them.

March 29th-30th:  Went to Logan, Utah where Brent met up with Kurt, Tyson and Tamaira.  Jace and Russ drove up from Provo to spend the next two days on the mountain snowmobiling.  They had a great time and have discovered a new place to play.  I drove down to Utah County and spent those days with the girls.  We checked out the new City Creek shopping area and listened to General Conference.

April 1st:  Sunday--General Conference.  Always a wonderful day.  Never ceases to amaze me how timely and pertinent the messages are.  A true testament to the doctrine of prophets and apostles.  We watched it in Lehi with all the family--my favorite way to spend the day.  We enjoyed cinnamon rolls and a lovely dinner in the afternoon.  Jerry and his family joined us.

April 2nd-5th:  Brent flew home to Spokane for the work week.  I headed to Richfield to spend some time with Mom and Dad.  We planned a special 80th birthday party for Dad in May, and I just helped them with chores at home. 

April 6th-10th:  For Easter weekend we were back up in Lehi at the Lewis home.  Mark and Traci were headed to London (so excited for them!) so we were able to spend 4 days with their fabulous boys, Hunter, Keaton and Landon.  It was an adventure for sure.  It's been a while since I've been a "full time Mom" of young ones.  Saturday happened to be little Landon's 6th birthday, so we helped him celebrate a bit.  The boys were so excited that evening to prepare for Easter.  They were a little worried that the Easter Bunny may not find them in Lehi, but never fear, I assured them that their Mom and informed the Easter Bunny where they would be.  Of course he came through.

Easter Sunday we went to church at Jace's student ward because he was singing with a quartet and in the choir.  It was a lovely program.  That afternoon we enjoyed dinner, and since the weather was lovely, the boys (big and little) played outside by the river.  After a few minutes of jousting with willow reeds, Russ comes in with Landon saying that he had cut his finger.  Long story short, we decided that it may need stitches.  We packed up to head back to Logan and stopped in Sandy at an emergency room.  Landon was a great patient--he only shed a tear or two when getting the anesthesia in his finger previous to stitches.  He needed 8 stitches!  So glad we decided to have it checked out.  I hope I haven't scared anyone from letting me be Auntie/Grandma in the future.   I figure it isn't too unusual to have a little drama with 3 active boys around.  We made it to Logan that night and Monday and Tuesday went well.  They have a beautiful home in Nibley, just outside of Logan.

April 11th:  We went from Logan to Boise again.  We spent the night and then assisted Lindsay in transporting Sheri back here to Spokane.  Sheri, Barbara (her friend/nurse) and I drove up in her van.  It was a fairly smooth drive, and we have successfully settled Sheri back into her home.  She is happy to be back in Spokane.  She has decided to halt chemo, but is still hanging in there.  What a courageous lady.  Sheri and her family are teaching many of us so many things.  Observing the hand of the Lord and the many tender mercies in their lives is so inspiring.

So there you have it!  Another full two weeks that I wanted to document.  Here are a few pictures of our adventures.  We always love the time we are able to spend with our family and friends.  Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.



The boys fishing on the banks of the river behind Camille and Russ' home. 

Landon relaxing while fishing.



Singing Happy Birthday to Landon.  Notice his brother Keaton and the typical goofy peace signs! 
Almost every picture we took looks like this.  Boys will be boys!



The jousting matches.  Not sure who had more fun--my nephews or my sons-in-law!



Coloring Easter eggs.  Brittney and Stuart painted a few themselves.



The Easter Bunny found those Forsey boys!  Can you believe it?



Landon in the emergency room.  What a trooper.



One big owie!  Glad we stopped for stitches.  Like I told Mark and Traci, we only
had one emergency room visit in 4 days!  That's not too bad, is it???

Bishop

On September 10, 2006, Brent was called to serve as Bishop of the Little Spokane River Ward in our stake.  At the time, his call was unexpected and overwhelming in so many ways.  Well, here we are now over 5 1/2 years later, and this past Sunday he was released from his position as Bishop of the Colbert Ward.   Two years ago our stake boundaries were realigned and the former ward was dissolved and we had the opportunity of helping create a new ward.  It was a great experience. 

Sunday was a tender, teary and bittersweet day to say the least.  There were lots of kind words and sentiments shared.  He truly and deeply LOVED his calling.  He just loves people, especially the youth, and as a bishop had the opportunity to personally connect with so many.  Of course there were hard and difficult times, plenty of challenges that he helped members through.  However, the good times, the opportunities to mentor youth, to guide, direct and serve young and old far outweighed those challenges. 

Currently he is in "decompression" mode!  It will take a few weeks for his mind and his heart to "let go" of the responsibilities that he had.  The stake has great plans for him in the future that include still working with the youth and he is excited about that.  As "Sister Bishop" I too enjoyed serving with him.  It was a great blessing in our family for which I will be forever grateful.  Following are a few pictures of some of these experiences.  We will humbly cherish the memories of this time and will always love our fellow ward members. 

The picture on the left is Brent with some of the Young Women.  The YW LOVE Bishop McLaws.
 Our Stake President says he reminds him of a "a happy puppy!"  Not a bad description!
 The picture on the right is at YW Girl's Camp in 2010.
 We camped as a ward that year and he stayed with us the whole time.

Left picture is of a 50 Mile High Adventure Camp with the Priests at Eagle's Cap, Oregon.
 Right is a Youth Activity where they had their own Pinewood Derby.

One of my favorite things about being Bishop was the opportunity to get to know the missionaries serving in our area.  The left picture is of 2 sister missionaries who served in our ward.
 We even had 2 elders who lived in our home for about 6 weeks while waiting for a permanent place. 
The picture on the right is of the Pioneer Trek we went on in 2010.  I spent my 50th birthday as a pioneer--it was awesome! 

Just Checking In. . . .

This time of year has never been a favorite of mine.   I'm usually very over winter and ready for spring, although this year our winter was so mild I can hardly complain.    In fact, this last week has been rather rainy.  March is a month that seems longer than any other, but of course that's not true because there are other months with 31 days.  It's all in my head, no doubt, but I'm already looking ahead.

Nonetheless, I've kept busy since my last post (a month ago!!) with just everyday life.  Here are a few hints to what's been on the docket.

In December I was called to work in Young Women's as the Mia Maid Counselor.  I have 11 great 14 and 15 year olds.  They are darling girls and a lot of fun.  I have served in YW's before, but it's been about 7 years, so I was "out of shape" so to speak!  Serving in YW's is challenging but so rewarding.  Between the busy Sundays and Wednesday night activities, there is always at least a couple of other days in the week that I get to be "Sister McLaws."  We have dances, firesides, service projects, birthdays, stake events, temple trips, etc., etc.  It can be exhausting but it is a lot of fun too.

Hey, it's March Madness baby!  I love basketball and so I love this first week of the tournament.  I filled out a bracket, and of course I have lots of busts so far.  My two teams, BYU and Gonzaga both won their opening games, but lost in the next rounds.  There were plenty of upsets a few days ago, so now I'm just cheering for the underdog, whichever team that may be.  It is just so exciting!

We participated in our first Republican Primary Caucus a few weeks ago.  I'm pretty into current events and watch way too much news, so I have a candidate and political view that's for sure.  It was interesting to caucus and participate as a citizen.  I was selected to be a delegate (about 60 people showed up at our neighborhood caucus and we have 8 delegates) at the Spokane County Caucus in April!!  Yoo hoo!  I figure if I'm going to be "into" this election cycle I might as well be involved.  After all, at some point all my opinions and clever repertoire is just noise unless I act.  FYI, I'm supporting Romney wholeheartedly, but basically my position is ABO--Anybody But Obama.  I believe this election will be a referendum on Obama and I just hope and pray people will recognize the destructive path his administration is on.  We need to save our country and get back to individual responsibility, liberty and freedom.  (Sorry for the soapbox, but hey, it's my blog!)

And for the best news of all, Brittney and Stuart are having a BOY!!   Let's just say that this Grandma has been busy with a few projects for this little guy.  It's hard already to not pick up something from the baby department every time I'm in a store.  We are so thrilled for them and can't wait to welcome him in July. 

We are looking forward to seeing the family in a few weeks when we go to Utah for General Conference.  Until then, I'll stay out of the rain.   Back to you soon!

Aloha Valentine

When Valentine's Day falls on a Tuesday, it can be tricky to celebrate.  Brent went to the temple that night with the youth from our ward to do baptisms.  I also work in Young Women's in the ward, and one of my Mia Maids had a birthday that day, so our class "heart attacked" her bedroom to surprise her. 

Traditionally we don't make too big a deal of the day. . . just a simple "Love You" type of remembrance.  I received a beautiful rose bouquet and nice mushy card from my sweetheart, and in return I gave him a few of his favorite things:  Some "well baked" cookies (Fact:  he likes burnt cookies. . . yes, burnt ones, but I just can't quite leave them in that long, so they are just extra well done. . . actually is works quite well. . . I'm not as tempted to eat many because that's just wrong!); some nutty chocolate, a tacky stuffed bear, and tickets to the symphony!

Now this wasn't just any performance by the Spokane Symphony.  They were playing with a guest artist--The Brothers Cazimero!  Brent served his mission in Hawaii a million years ago, and the Borthers C (as he calls them) are the most well-known of the musical Hawaiian groups/duos/singers.  For 30+ years we have listened to their Hawaiian music (sometimes he gets in that "trunky" mood and will play song after song), and when I saw in the paper last month that they were actually coming to Spokane I knew it would be a big surprise. 

When we were in Hawaii about 5 years ago we also found them at a little venue, and took the kids to see them at a live casual dining show.  I'm sure these guys are somewhere around 70+ years old now, but they really do have exceptional voices and can still sing beautifully for the most part.  Hawaiian music is so soothing. . . it really is very relaxing and it made us want to go home and buy tickets for the next plane out.  Like Brent said, "I never thought I would see The Brothers C in Spokane--what a great treat!"  They brought several dancers with them, and between the singing and the hula, I was ready to pack my bags.  We were pleasantly surprised to see such a large, diverse crowd at the Fox Theatre.  Most were on the older side, but there were all types represented.  After all, who doesn't love Hawaii?  Aloha!

Two Weeks

I always intend to blog more often, but then one day runs into another and before I know it, a month has passed.  This time of year is always interesting. . . a bit boring and hum drum as the holidays have passed and Spring seems forever away.   Alas, here I am using the same old excuses for my poor journaling habits.  Enough!  I've made some progress--this blog's over a year old and so let's get blogging.

I titled this post "Two Weeks" because I recently returned from a two week journey to visit friends and family.  Brent had to go to Australia for the annual board meetings, so I took this opportunity to check on my loved ones.  Let's organize this chronologically:  (Oh, and lame little ol' me, I didn't take a single picture as I forgot my camera.  The photos below are with my cell phone.)

Days 1-4:  I traveled to Mountain Home, Idaho to spend a few days with our dear friend Sheri Bird who is staying with her daughter and son-in-law, Lindsay and France Nielson.   Sheri is fighting brain cancer and is spending some time with them in their home.  It was so good to see her, to talk, laugh, cry, watch chick flicks, eat wonderful food, play with Sam (one of the cutest babies on the planet), visit Walmart, travel into Boise, and just "be."  Camille came up on day 3 to visit as well and to pick me up to go down into Utah.  We had a great visit.  Sheri is hanging in there--she is one strong woman and Lindsay is doing a fabulous job caring for her Mom.

Days 4.5-6:  On Saturday I enjoyed dinner with the kiddos and then it was off to Lehi to get some sleep.  Sunday after church with Camille and Russ, we invited Jerry and his family to join our family for dinner.  We made yummy chicken enchiladas (Camille's recipe) and it was good to visit with Jerry, Nate, McKayla and Megan and Sean.  Little baby Lincoln is growing fast and is darling.  They all are doing reasonably well considering the loss we all still feel after Lisa's passing.  My "little brother" Jerry has a new found wisdom, compassion, and understanding that only those who have walked in similar shoes understand.  I think of him often and pray for him and his family daily.

Days 6-11:  I went down to Richfield to check on Mom and Dad.  We had last visited at Thanksgiving, and I try to get there about quarterly.  I got the house in shape, helped Mom thoroughly clean out her closet, cooked some much-appreciated meals, and enjoyed a couple of lunches with Dad.  On Thursday I was lucky enough to be Dad's date to the BYU vs. Gonzaga basketball game.  That was awesome!  I'm still a bit irked that "my two teams" now have to play one another and somebody has to lose, but this time BYU won handily.  That was good--they needed the win more, especially being the home team.  BYU puts on quite a pre-game/half-time show in the Marriott Center.  At the last minute, Dad treated us to dinner, as coincidently Craig (my oldest brother from Tennessee) and his son Zac (and a friend) were in town for a few days to do some skiing.  Also, Mark (youngest brother in Logan--they were headed south to do some snowmobiling), and Shayla and Kara (Craig's daughters) were there as well.  All in all there were about a dozen of us--Brittney and Stuart and Camille and Russ were able to make it, but Jace was unable to change plans on such short notice.   It's been a few years since I've seen Zac (he's a year older than Brittney), and it seems that lately Craig and my paths cross quickly, but it's better than nothing.  We had a nice visit.

Day 12-13:  Well, here's the story. . . Poor Brent arrived in Spokane from his Australia trip after 10 days.  Not surprisingly, he had a lot of loose ends to catch up at home, but was only able to stay 2 days before heading out again.  He was needed to follow up on some sales calls.  He left for San Francisco, and then was headed to Las Vegas for a couple of days over the weekend.  Coincidentally, my flight home went through Las Vegas, and since he wasn't going to be home for another full week (traveling on to a few more business meetings), I decided to alter my plans and stay a few days with him in Vegas.  We enjoyed good buffet food, went to church on Sunday, and just relaxed.  We walked alot both evenings--LV is a crazy city--just look, we saw the Eiffel Tower!  On Sunday evening the streets were pretty quiet--I think everyone was in watching the Super Bowl.  It was the best time to be on the strip in Las Vegas. 

So, after two weeks I arrived back home.  Brent will finally be home for a while tomorrow.  He is really busy right now with work, but we're not complaining--it's kind of important to have a job.  I loved my time with friends, the kids and my parents. 

And now, February is almost half over. Wow, here I go again. . .

Holiday Rewind - Onward and Forward

The Holidays were wonderful, as usual.  It is always so good to be together as a family, and as this year was our "on" year, that meant that all of us were together for Christmas.  It has been 3 years since we were all together (Jace being in Japan for the last two) so I was really excited.  I know the time will come someday when it may be too difficult for these inclusive Christmases, and that will be OK.  That would probably mean we have a bunch of grandchildren, and I certainly wouldn't complain about that!

!!!!!SIDEBAR NEWSFLASH!!!!!  Anyone reading this blog (all 3.5 readers of mine) probably already know, but we are so excited that Brittney and Stuart will become parents in July!!  After a long, long road, she is at this time 12 weeks pregnant.  She even has one of those cute little ultrasound pictures, and is feeling the typical symptoms of early pregnancy (Sorry sweetheart, but not really!)   We are so grateful for this miracle.

Anyway, I'm back on track here. . . Jace finished his semester on Dec. 17th, so we had him home for quite a while.  It''s always fun having him here, seeing his old friends again, and enjoying lots of great conversation.  Camille and Russ arrived on Dec. 22nd, and Brittney and Stuart on the 23rd.  The guys got in a snowmobiling trip the morning of Christmas Eve, and then that evening we had our "nice" dinner.  We invited the Bird Family--Sheri and her children--Lindsay and France Nielsen (and their beautiful little guy Sam), Brett and Kelsey.  Jace's close friend, Tim O'Brien, also joined us.  It was a delicious dinner, if I do say so myself. 

With Christmas being on a Sunday this year, the day was extra special.  Luckily we had late church, so we could sleep in a bit, get up and see if Santa came, and open our presents.  The musical program at Church was really good, and since Christmas is celebrating the birth of our Savior, it was nice to truly pause and reflect appropriately amidst the strong spirit with our ward family.  Santa sure is good to the McLaws family--Somehow "he" is still finding these "kids" after all these years!  Another miracle for sure.  Great things happen when you believe. 

Jace got a new ski coat, Brent was surprised with a Blu-ray from his kids, Camille got new snow boots, Brittney wanted a warm coat, Stuart was thrilled to receive a Bocce Ball game, and Russ got new snowboard pants.  Everybody looks happy!

After church on Christmas we had fun taking a few pictures by the tree.  Brent was still busy at Church for a bit,
 so we kept ourselves busy being silly. 

 On the 27th we all climbed in one car (pulling a little U-haul for gear and food) and headed up to Fairmont Hot Springs in British Columbia, Canada.  We spent 3 nights/4 days in the area.  We hoped to find more snow 5 hours further north, but they didn't have that much more than we did.  We did ski one day at Panorama Resort.  We also spent a day sightseeing around the Banff area.  Wow, it sure is beautiful there.  Downtown Banff is very much a resort town with a charming main street and lots of cool little shops.  We enjoyed lunch in a pizza place.  We had been up that way about 10 years ago, but that was in the summer.  It is equally breathtaking in the Canadian Rockies in the winter.  We also traveled to Lake Louise, about 30 minutes from Banff.  It is a spectacular lake, and we were genuinely surprised when we pulled up to see that it was frozen and covered with snow!  We really thought we would see beautiful blue water.  They have a gorgeous hotel/resort right there which we walked around.  There was this funky ice "house" right there on the edge of the lake where they have ice skating and hockey rinks.

We arrived home from Canada on Dec. 30th.  Brittney and Stuart left early on New Year's Eve.  Brent was able to take Camille and Russ and Jace out snowmobiling again that day.  We had the Elders over for dinner that evening, and by about 11 pm we were exhausted!  We gave up and went to bed, welcoming in the New Year in our dreams.  On Monday morning the kids packed up and pulled away, their car loaded to the max,  and headed back for Utah.  It is definitely quiet here again.

As this new year begins, I'm grateful for so many blessings and tender mercies in our lives.  We are truly blessed.  2011 was a year of some of the highest highs and lowest lows.  I guess that's life.  I'm sure 2012 will bring us a lot of happy times and many challenges as well.  Thank heavens for the gospel and the foundation it provides.   As far as resolutions go, I'm not making too many--just hoping to generally be a better person and daughter of God.  One milestone for me is that I've been a blogger for a whole year now.  It's actually been rather fun and somewhat therapeutic at times.  I think I can keep this up.  Yea! 

Happy New Year to everyone.

May 2012 be a JOYFUL year for us all!

The Holidays Begin . . .Thanks & Gratitude

Well, it looks like I'm having a bit of trouble keeping up with my blog!  It's not that our life is overly complicated or busier than the average folk, but somehow the days do get away from me.  It's already early December, and I realized that I hadn't yet documented our Thanksgiving events.  Before I know it, Christmas will be here, and though I vowed not to make this blog only about major event and travels, it seems that is the case lately.  Trust me, in between these special times there are plenty of simple, ho-hum days, which really isn't a bad thing, right?

OK, on to remembering November!  Now that all the kids live in Utah, it makes sense for Brent and I to head that way.  I left a few days ahead of Brent since I wanted to have plenty of time to help get ready for the holiday in Richfield with my parents.  Shockingly, Brent has a terrible track record of being able to get away on time (gasp!) and I didn't want to come rolling in an hour or two before dinner!  I was able to meet the kids for dinner in Provo on Monday night, and then head to Richfield.  This year the girls had Thanksgiving with their in laws, so it was just Brent, myself and Jace that were headed to Richfield.  Mark, Traci and their boys (Hunter, Keaton and Landon) arrived on Tuesday.  On Wednesday Shayla and Kara (Craig and Kristi's girls), Brent and Jace, and Megan, Sean and little Lincoln made it.  Jerry, Nate and McKayla arrived on Thursday morning.  We had 18 for Thanksgiving dinner.  It was a wonderful meal. 

That's Lincoln in the middle of the table!  Doesn't he make a great centerpiece?

On Friday we went bowling out to Jorgensen Lanes.  Whenever we all get together in Richfield, it is something we enjoying doing together.  I'm an OK bowler--I think I even had the high score for first game by a couple of pins, but I totally bombed on the second game.  Jace was awarded the first Forsey Family Bowling Tournament Trophy for the high average score.  He just beat out his Dad! 

He's looking pretty serious about this!  That's my Dad with Jace and the trophy. 
Traci put it together from the DI!  It's perfect. 

Landon is such a handsome 5 year old--he has gorgeous blue eyes.  McKayla is equally beautiful,
 and of course baby Lincoln is a sweetheart.

On Saturday we went back up north to spend a few days with Brittney and Stuart and Camille and Russ.  We had some family photos taken, so hopefully they will turn out.  We had a nice Thai dinner and just hung out.  On Sunday we were able to surprise my brother Jerry for his 50th birthday which was on November 30th.   It was an awesome surprise--family, friends, ward members and neighbors all gathered and rang his doorbell.  When he opened it a bunch of people were there with balloons, cake and ice cream and just lots of love and well wishes for him.  Happy Birthday Jerry!

I was away about 10 days in all.  It was great being with family.  That's what Thanksgiving is all about.  Now it's only a few weeks until the kids all head this way for Christmas.  I'm excited for us to all be together again.  Jace is looking forward to actually celebrating Christmas this year--it turns out that Japan doesn't really recognize any Christian holidays!  We have been so blessed already this season. . . I'm thrilled to become Grandma Ang sometime this July!  Brittney and Stuart are just beginning a pregnancy. . . we are so very grateful.  Check out her blog for details.  Miracles still happen! 
 

Wishes and Thoughts

Hello Blog!  Goodbye October . . . we are on to November. 

Wish #1:  Today is a very special day because I want to wish my beautiful Mother, Joyce Forsey,  a Happy Birthday! She is a very young 74 years old.  Although the past 12 years have been full of health challenges, she continues to be a sweet, loving and supportive part of our family.  I wish I lived closer so that I could be of more help on a daily basis, and am so grateful for my Dad and the great friends who live in Richfield that help care for her.  We are visiting at Thanksgiving, so I'll be able to personally give her a big birthday hug.  When I talked with her today we discussed our menu for Thanksgiving Dinner.  She was always such a fabulous cook, and even though she may not be able to stand at the stove these days, she still has great menu ideas and requests.  I love you Mom.

This is my Mom just before she got married in the Manti Temple.  Wasn't she gorgeous?



A more recent picture of my Mom.  Still gorgeous!!

Wish #2:  Speaking of birthdays, my wonderful in laws also celebrated birthdays recently.  Brent's Mom, Pierette McLaws celebrated on October 27th, and his Dad, Bob McLaws, on November 2nd.  Happy Birthday wishes to them as well.  I am so lucky to have such fantastic in laws, and come on, they survived raising Brent, so they are basically pretty darn perfect!   They are amazing examples of service and support and in their post-retirement years are still going strong.  We love them.  

The "Power Parents" of the McLaws Family

Also, just a few random thoughts. . . .

Not sure if I'm ready for winter yet!  Summer was slow in coming, and relatively mild.  Our hottest day of the year was only 94 degrees.  Autumn has been rather nice, so I can't complain about September and October.   As I type, the weather man is warning of a "colder and wetter than normal" winter around here.  It seems that snow may fall sometime in the next day or two.   Let's just say that one member of this family is very happy about that, and the other not so much!  Any guesses on who is which??

Every day I realize how great a blessing good health is.  Of course we all know the basic rules of how to take care of ourselves, but sometimes, for no logical reason, health challenges pop up.  The axiom, "good health is everything" is so very true.  If I had a magic lantern, I would use all my wishes to cure the health/physical challenges of those I love, but sigh, such is impossible.  Prayer sure helps though, and I do believe in miracles.  With God, anything is possible.

OKTOBERFEST

This year we decided to properly celebrate the arrival of October by visiting the land of Bavaria!  That’s right, we’ve returned from a little jaunt over yonder to the lands of Germany, Switzerland and Austria.  Brent had a few business commitments, and so we decided to add in a few days of sightseeing too.   The last time I was in northern Europe was 26 years ago, so it’s been a very long time.  We were able to use our timeshare connection and get a place for a few days in Oberstaufen, Germany, about 2 hours south of Munich, which we made our “home base.”  We rented a little car (had to laugh that it was a Chevrolet – we were looking forward to driving around some sort of import, but to be honest, the little car did just fine), brought along Martha, our GPS—she’s always been Martha—her voice just sounds like a Martha (I think I'm still hearing 'recalculating' even today) and set off.

We didn’t have any real itinerary planned.   There were several places we planned to visit for sure, but otherwise we were just vagabonds.  It was a fun way to travel, and with just 2 of us, it was easy. Being the first week in October, we were so lucky with the weather.  It was gorgeous most of the time—even a little too warm several days.  It did rain towards the end of our trip, but all in all, Mother Nature cooperated.    This part of the world is so beautiful.  Most of the time we were in the countryside rather than the larger cities.  Having a car and being able to drive anywhere gives you a great sense of what the country and the people are like.  I was impressed with how clean and kept everything was.  Litter is virtually non-existent, homes all look like they just were repainted, and there really are flower boxes full of beautiful blooms on all the windows.  Simply spectacular.  German is a crazy language, though--boy are those words long!  We were surprised by just how little English we found.  Occasionally we would find signs, instructions, information, menus, etc., with English translation, but much less than we expected. 

So, with that introduction, be forewarned!    What follows are lots of pictures and a travelogue of sorts.  I know details of other people’s vacation can be boring, so just know that this blog entry contains lots of details—mainly for our kids.   As a family we highly value traveling and vacations, and there were so many times that we said “We’ll have to bring the family back here sometime.” 

Near our place in Oberstaufen was an area called Hundel--a ski resort.  We took a chair lift to the middle point of the mountain and then hiked the trails all afternoon.  It was a public holiday in Germany, so there were a lot of families and people around--beautiful weather too!  They love their "alpine walks" there.  All over the mountain were "alpine haus' " with food and drink.  We ate lunch at one with authentic German food and entertainment.  It was lovely.

  

This is in the middle of our hike and one of the haus' where you could buy food.  Notice the cute little swing set and the children playing--the kids were darling.   The sun is hitting Brent's backpack just right--it looks like he has a solar-powered battery operating or something!

Also on the hike.  Notice the green hills--they all look like they are mowed weekly.  All the mountains look like this.

This was the view outside our timeshare unit's window.  So beautiful!!

Bern, Switzerland Temple.  Beautiful smaller temple.  We did an Italian session--it was interesting to be the ones with the headsets.  One of the temple workers thought Dad was Italian!  He was so flattered--he's always said that in his next life he wants to be Italian. 

Zurich, Switzerland.  We only spent a few hours here.  They have a waterfront we walked along, and we also visited a church.  We attempted to see an art museum, but it was closed that day. 

This is in the shopping district of Bern.  It was so cool!!  The storefronts are all the old architecture, but inside are all the new shops.  It was probably a mile long with a clock tower in the center.

The Clock Tower in Bern.  It even sounds beautiful when it rings. 

Interlaken, Switzerland.  We spent the afternoon walking around here.  There were paragliders coming of the mountain intermittently and landing in the park.  It was fun to watch. 

By the lake in Interlaken.  The city is between 2 lakes--hence the name "Interlaken!"

This is by the waterfront in Interlaken and is a picture of the car we rented--a Chevrolet Orlando--whatever that is.  It did really great though.  I think one of Brent's favorite parts of the whole trip was the driving.  He loved driving the switchback roads in the mountains and the stretches of no speed limits! Next time you see him ask him how fast he drove!

When we left Interlaken, we took the long way back--we took the scenic route through the Swiss Alps.  We literally went up and then back down FOUR mountains.  At the top of one of them was this lake and this hotel built on an "island/rock" in the middle of it--so crazy!  The water for some reason looks dirty and grey but it wasn't.  It was beautiful.

A closer view of the hotel.  I'm not sure I could stay there!  I probably wouldn't dare leave my room.

A restaurant at the top of one of the mountains. 

Eating my breakfast yogurt with my neighbors, the milk cows!  BTW, the yogurt over there is sooooo good!

This is downtown in Oberstaufen, Germany, our home base.  It was totally charming.

One day we went on another hike in Steibus, Germany at the Hochgratbahn Ski Resort.  We hiked for over 2 hours and most of the way it was a very vertical climb up.  Can you see where I'm pointing?  That little place on the top was the ski lodge with the gondola to take us down.  At this point we were already half way, and still had a long way to go.

Finally there!  I just have to say that although Brent started out strong,
 he faded and I beat him up there!  Just saying!

This is at Neuschwanstein Castle by Fussen, Germany.  It is the famous "Cinderella's Castle."  It is amazing!  Again, we had wonderful weather and we able to see far and wide from the view points.  It was built by King Ludwig II.  He was definitely an interesting character--somewhat crazy, but he sure had good taste in architecture. 

 One of the views from Neuschwanstein Castle.  In the background is another one of Ludwig's homes--Hohenschwangau Castle.  Aren't the mountains and the lakes absolutely gorgeous?

 A view of Neuschwanstein Castle from Marien-Brucke Bridge.  Absolutely stunning!

 That's me waving at Brent from the side of the bridge.  It is a suspension bridge that moves a lot and everyone knows that I don't like heights.  Well, just when we arrived a busload of Japanese tourists joined us!  The bridge got a little crowded for me, and it didn't help that Brent kept teasing me saying he wasn't sure it could support all of the people.  I can report, however, that I did cross it several times!

 See!  I'm on the bridge!  I think Brent is laughing because I probably left fingernail grooves in the railing. 

 This is the view of the backyard of King Ludwig's "Summer Home," Linderhof Palace.  It was very cool too!  It is about 1 hour away from Neuschwanstein Castle.  The gardens and the grounds were amazing.  He even built himself the ultimate "man cave" into the side of the mountain with an artificial pool and staging area for operas.  He mysteriously died by drowning at about 40 years of age after the government declared him insane.  A conspiracy for sure. 

 Another view of Linderhof Palace and it's beautiful gardens.

 Linderhof Palace as seen from the front.

 This is St. James Cathedral in Innsbruck, Austria.  Brent is a church guy!  He LOVES touring all the churches he can find. This church allowed photography, so we snapped a few pictures.  The handicraft and artistry are amazing. 

Also inside the cathedral.  You'll notice that we now have our jackets on.  This was the day the weather changed on us.
 Storms came in and we had intermittent rain.  Unfortunately, due to cloud cover we never did get a
 good view of the mountains in Austria.

Don't we look stylin??  This is from the Salzbergwerk Salt Mines tour in the Salzburg, Austria/Berchtesgaden, Germany area.  It is a fully functioning salt mine and you go on a tour deep inside the mountain.  It was interesting.  We look particularly pudgy because we had our bags on inside these jumpsuits!  Because of the weather we were unable to visit Eagle's Nest (Hitler's Hideaway) and see the beauty of the area.  Oh well, maybe next time!

On Sunday we went to church in Salzburg.  It is so great to go to church  and feel right at home, even when the whole service was in German!  The Elders translated for us through a cool translation device, so we were able to understand most of the service. 

 After church we headed back up to the Munich area and went to the Dachau Concentration Camp.  How somber and sobering it is to learn about the atrocities committed at these places.  After our time admiring the beautiful handiwork of God in nature, it is sad to see the evil inflicted on others by mankind.  Very educational.

 These are the ovens they used for cremations.  At Dachau they did not have mass gassing or burnings, but used these ovens to "bury" the dead who died from overwork and starvation.  The camps in Poland are the ones that did the really terrible things. 

 A memorial to the "Forgotten Dead."

 In Munich we visited the Munich Residence, the "home" of the Kings and Royalty of the 18th century.  It was huge and so interesting.  We toured the King's Palace and the Treasury.  We had these cool translation devices that you held to your ears so you could walk around at your own pace and listen to just the things you were interested in. 

This was one of the halls in the King's Palace with hundreds of busts of various important people.  I felt like we were in a
 Harry Potter movie or something. . . I sort of expected the heads to all start moving and talking!

 This is the Grand Square in downtown Munich.  Munich is a very beautiful, busy, cosmopolitan city.  Notice the green clock area in the center.  On the hour the wooden German statues come out and play a tune. 

Another view of the Grand Square.  The shopping was wonderful!  They have very beautiful clothes over there and most people are dressed just a tad nicer than I think most Americans do--especially the young people.  The young German men are very fashionable and handsome.  The girls are as well.  They do like black, however!  Oh, and scarfs are very big.  Everyone wears a scarf--even the younger children.  It is their "splash of color" I suppose. 

 On our last night there we went to an authentic German restaurant called Ratskeller's.  It is in the cellar of that huge Grand Palace building and we actually found it by accident.  Brent ordered a typical meal--bratwurst, sauerkraut and potatoes.  I had a goulash soup.  I will say that you don't go to Germany for the food.  Of course European bread is amazing, and we all know
 about the chocolate, but they eat lots of meat and potatoes, pizza and sandwiches.  The only American/fast food we found was McDonald's and Burger King.  We actually had McD's twice (simply because we couldn't find anything else open
 after 6 pm)  and the burgers were very good!  They have better meat and bread than we do--more of a gourmet style burger. 

So there you have it!  If you're still reading this you're a champ--quite the travelogue I know, but I warned you!!  We had a great time and always love to travel, but it's always good to come home too.

 Auf wiedersehen!
(That's Goodbye in German)