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)


"So Long" September

Here I go again, declaring how fast time flies.  I realize I say that almost every time I post, but this is simply true in my life.   September is now almost over, and it has been adventuresome.

Several weeks ago Brittney had to travel to Seattle for her work to attend a conference there.  Camille had a free ticket on Southwest that expired soon.   And wait!  I am only 4.5 hours away, and could actually drive over there, so we decided to make it a girls' weekend.  We spent several days exploring downtown Seattle--shopping, eating, walking, shopping, eating, walking, repeat.  It was great to be with the girlies and have no agenda.

Brittney was the only one with a camera, so she is the photographer.  On the left is Camille and I at Pike's Place. 
The picture on the right is my favorite.  It was taken on Bainbridge Island.
 Very wise words--"Call your Mom!  Be a good kid."

The very next week I had plans to travel to Utah for a few days for several events.  The main reason was to meet up with Brent's family (The McLaws) for our bi-annual reunion.  It just so happens that I was able to be there as well to see Stuart and Fictionist play at the Velour in honor of their recent signing to Atlantic Records!  The concert was absolutely amazing.  I haven't seen the band play live for a while, and I was completely blown away.  It was a great evening, and I am so proud of Stu and Brittney and so excited for them and whatever the future may hold.  All those years of hard work are finally paying off.  We are looking forward to Fictionist's bright future.

These are pictures from that night at the Velour.  One happy sidenote:  On the bottom left Camille is sitting with Megan McWhorter, my niece.  She came to the concert, and just 2 days later delivered a beautiful baby boy--Lincoln!  He came 2 weeks early, but it was so awesome to be able to be there to meet the new little guy.  Congratulations to her and her husband, Sean.

As I mentioned, the McLaws' had planned a mini-reunion that weekend.  Brent has been crazy-busy these past few weeks with work/bishop/etc.  He had planned to join us on Friday, but to no one's surprise, was unable to make it.  Work was to blame, and actually it really wasn't his fault (this time!)  He had to wait for product that was several days late.  Anyway. . . on Friday night he was able to join us, sort of!  Notice Brent on the screen "skypeing" everyone at the party.  Gotta love technology.  On the right is Camille and Monique, Brent's youngest sister.  She is awesome!  It was so great to see her.

Saturday was the big activity.  A McLaws' reunion always revolves around some event.  In the past we have done things like river rafted, biked the Hiawatha, boated/water skied and snow skied.  This year we all signed up for the Dirty Dash Mud Run--a 10K Run/Obstacle Course at Soldier Hollow in Park City.  It was quite the event.  Thousands of people did this "run" through mud, swamps, trails, strength and balance challenges, etc.  I have never been dirtier in my life!  I was amazed that nobody got hurt as you were slipping and sliding through mud so much of the time. 

From left to right:  Stuart and Brittney after the race,  Jace and I, and Jace alone in a close-up.  Before crossing the finish line we all waded through a waist high pond of mud.  Jace actually "dove" in and had mud in his eyes and teeth.  There really was mud everywhere!  We didn't even bother to keep our shoes but donated them to charity at the end of the race.

The last several weeks have been crazy busy, but lots of fun. 

  I love spending time with family and making

wonderful memories together. 

Sayonara September! You've been great!

 



Nine Eleven

In July of 2000 our family took a vacation to the east coast.  We visited New York City, Washington DC, Niagara Falls, Palmyra and The Sacred Grove and other church history sites.   Brent actually lived in White Plains, NY during his teen years.  In many ways it was a "Let-Dad-Show-You-Where-I-Lived" tour.  He took us to his old neighborhood and old high school.  It helped to have visuals of all the great "Brent Stories" we've heard for years.

This photo is one that I now cherish.  It was only 14 months later that the world changed forever on 9/11/01.  Being a Utah girl, and only a visitor to the east coast, I'll admit that watching the footage on TV that day seemed surreal.  New York City was in many ways like a foreign place to me.  However, I watched with a new kind of sadness in my heart because I remembered fondly our vacation the summer before.  We had climbed the Empire State Building and walked the streets of Times Square.  We visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and were able to snap this picture of us with the Twin Towers in the background.  

A lot has transpired in 10 years--just look at the picture.  The landscape has changed, and I dare say we have all grown up in more ways than one.  I often say how fast time flies and things change, but one thing that will never ever change is the great blessing we have of being Americans, of living in a country where we have freedoms and liberty.  I am grateful for all those men and women who have and continue to make this possible for us all.  Our Heavenly Father gave us this country and we know he is in charge.  May we always be grateful, be vigilant, be courageous.  May we never forget.

As Summer Ends

September has arrived, Labor Day has come and gone, and so in an effort to summerize the season (get it?  "summarize!!"), allow me to elaborate on a few events and thoughts.  I really really really love summer.  Actually, I do enjoy the seasons, and know I truly would miss any of them, but I have to admit that summer is my favorite.  Summer came late this year to the northwest.  We had a cool June, so in my book it wasn't really here until July.  So far September looks to be fabulous. . . we have high 80's, low 90's forecast for the next 10 days, so I think Mother Nature has her dates a little off.  It looks like September is the new August.  When I consider the wacky weather all over the world it's apparent that this anomaly isn't regional.  I love sunshine, so I'm not complaining.

Yesterday, Labor Day, we participated in our Stake's annual Labor Day 5K Fun Run.  I've run it every year for the past 15 years.  It seems that my time is pretty much the same every year.  I know I've slowed down a bit, but I think I turn it up a notch during this race.  After all, my goal is to beat Brent, and I managed to best him by a minute this year!  It's really kind of aggravating that he runs about twice a month while I go almost every day--but oh well, at least he's in shape enough to do that!  I tease him that he gets his training in every day when he paces as he talks on the phone.  Some days I swear he logs at least 3 miles. 

Aren't we cute in our matching outfits?  I got dressed first, and we didn't even realize it
until we were in the car headed to the race.  Pretty funny.

In my previous post I paid tribute to Lisa and her family.  As this blog is also my journal, I want to add a few thoughts here.  Lisa passed away on August 12th.  Jace and I left Spokane on August 18th for Utah (Brent followed several days later).   We had planned to leave the following week to take him back down to BYU, but of course our schedule was moved up.  The funeral services for Lisa were both heartbreaking and uplifting.   Tears flowed easily as we remembered her, honored her, and continued to learn from her as she was remembered.  Her sister, brothers, and all of her children shared their love for Lisa in beautiful tributes.  It's hard to imagine that she is no longer here on this earth, but it is not hard to imagine Lisa in heaven. She is the definition of an angel. 

One of the ironic silver linings surrounding death is that it gives the living an opportunity to renew relationships and to see family and friends that we've missed. It was nice to see cousins, family and friends I haven't seen in so long. The doctrine of the family is so beautiful. . . our Heavenly Father's plan is divine.

On the left is my Mom and her twin sister, Aunt Lois.  You can see the resemblance easily. My poor Mom was heartbroken and it was a pretty hot afternoon.  Such an emotional time.
On the right is my cousin Teria, Lois' daughter.
Teria came up from Las Vegas with her Mom (who flew in from North Carolina) to support Jerry.
It is always great to see them both.

On the left is Jace and his cousin, Melissa.  She is Lisa and Jerry's 2nd daughter.  She leaves tomorrow for a mission
to Warsaw, Poland!  She will be one awesome missionary!
 Melissa is so like her Mom--tiny and petite with a BIG heart and spirit.
 On the right is Brent and my oldest Brother, Craig.  They are only 5 days apart in age.
 Pretty handsome dudes for some old guys, uh?

After that first weekend Jace and I headed to Richfield for a few days.  Jace went golfing and fishing with Grandpa, which he enjoyed very much, and Mom and I made our trip to Walmart.  On Tuesday we moved Jace into his apartment at The Colony south of campus.  We made it to the BYU Bookstore and bought groceries too, so I guess he's set--he has a bed, books and food--what more does he need??  Oh yeah, we also met lots of friends and mission buds.  He didn't waste any time getting into the groove of life as a single guy in P-town.

I also was able to help Brittney and Camille and bit.  Brittney was getting their basement apartment ready for new renters, so we thoroughly cleaned a bathroom and retiled a kitchen floor.  So fun.  I've never seen so much stuff for 4 single guys. . . and they say girls have stuff!  I also helped Camille paint her family room in their new home.  She finally found the perfect color.  Of course there was also time for lunches, shopping, a movie, and just good ol' chill time.  It was great seeing all of my kids every day.

On Saturday we had a baby shower for Megan (Jerry's oldest daughter) who is having her baby the first week of October.  She received so many nice things from her friends and family!  Wow, I am constantly amazed at all the cool baby stuff there is out there these days.  Its a wonder my children even survived without all the gadgetry.  I'm saving my money now--when "grandmotherhood" comes around, I'm going to go crazy! 

Megan and her gifts!  Sitting by her is McKayla, the youngest.  She's equally awesome!  BTW, the baby that Brittney is holding is the daughter of my other niece, Megan Hammond.  Brittney was watching Frankie Jane that day. 

The last day there, Sunday, was Melissa's farewell for her mission.  There was another lovely dinner hosted by their Stake/Ward/Neighbors.  The service that has been extended to Jerry's family is commendable.  They have been such an example to me.  We all thank them so much.

So as I reflect on this summer, it's been one of joy and good times, and also one of sadness and grief.
  I guess it's been like life in general.  I've thought alot about the power of love, and how it evokes the deepest most intense feelings.  Because we love we feel joy, and because we love,
we feel heartache.  It's that "opposition in all things" doctrine that can be so hard sometimes. 
I'm so thankful for the atonement, for faith, hope and charity.
 And ultimately, I'm grateful for family, because family is where it's at. 

Family is everything. 

I am so blessed.