It's Here!!!!~

IT'S HERE!!

The Harry Potter Movie is out!!!

Cody and I were excitd to see it

opening night in Bonn, Germany!!

While still waiting to board the plane,

leaving from London after a cross country meet,

Cody heard about the Harry Potter Opening Night

at the Bonn Kinoplex theaters. Cody called Jim

asking us to go buy tickets RIGHT THEN,

to be sure we wouldn't miss out!

The English version was Wednesday night,

the 17th, and we were there! Yea!!

Cody was so psyched to let all his American

comrades know he had seen the movie 2 days

before they could in the U.S.

Good thing to have the Harry Potter movie

show up here first and make it worth

living in Germany.....

KENT'S MISSION CALL!!!~

                        

Kent FINALLY received his mission call in the mail!!

After some BIG computer glitches at the church offices, 

which caused 4 weeks of waiting.....

Kent finally received his call!

The minor glitch was having our 

Broomfield address on the paperwork. 

Kent's Grandma was wonderful to

drive it to the FedEx building. 

OUT BY THE AIRPORT!!

It was sent to him to have 

less than 24 HOURS LATER in Provo!

Now THAT'S a dedicated Grandma for ya!

Kent!  Ready to open his mission call letter!!!!!!!

Kent's wonderful sister and brothers and cousin Andre' were there.

Many friends came to hear the great news as well.


Click on the link below to watch Kent open his mission call!
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=800887323399&subj=17811566

There is a also a video, on my facebook page,

of Kent opening his call. It is really great to

watch. "Friend" me there if you would like to

view the exciting moment!! 

Kent is stunned, and excited by his call to the

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC MISSION!!!

Reporting March 2nd to the Provo, Utah 
MTC (Mission Training Center)

He will be in the MTC for close to 3 months

learning the Czech language.

Side note: Our family lived in Prague from

1997 to 2000. Kent turned 8 years old while

living in Prague. So he had the opportunity

to be baptized in the Mission Home where

we attended our Sunday meetings.

Already getting language lessons from big bro....

Jim, Cody and I watched via gmail video!

Here we are, LIVE, on the computer for this photo.

Congratulations Kent!!!

The official call letter personally signed by
the Prophet Thomas S. Monson

Map of the Czech Republic where Kent will soon be
serving as a full time missionary for
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!

Trip Finale~

Bob and Kelly's family invited us to join them

for a wonderful Sunday meal in their home.

After being fed so well, including some very

delicious desserts, we enjoyed more visiting.

There is always plenty of action going on

when you visit their home, and it's great!!!

It's All About the Food~

Our Saturday started with a good bought meal

and ended with a good home cooked meal.

I can never go to Provo without at trip to

Maggelby's for breakfast!

They have the yummiest french toast and

the best, EVER, warm syrup to drizzle all over

the french toast. After a great breakfast start

to our Saturday we all sat around the table,

outside the restaurant, and had a good football

chat with Jim who called from Germany.

After a great day of watching football games

at Tyler and Chandra's apartment we

enjoyed another meal together.

It was great that it worked out to have my

nephew Andre' over for dinner with his friend

Michelle. Hopefully we didn't scare them off

with our after dinner "discussion" about movies.

Soccer Night~

I enjoyed cooking a few meals for my kids

during the week I was there visiting.

Chandra especially loved it since it was

nice to come home to a cooked meal after

working a long day at the office!

And I was so happy to oblige!!

I didn't even mind doing the dishes,

so she could have a nice break.

Chandra's been great about cooking a meal

once a week on Sunday's for Tyler, Bryce

and Kent. They enjoy having an evening to

catch up with each other after a busy week

and before the next busy one begins.

Bryce had guests over for two of

the meals I cooked.

It was a tasty spaghetti meal this night!

Of course we made it like Grandma does,

the only right way!!!

Our evening entertainment...

I was excited I could be around, for once, to

watch Kent play on one of the intramural

soccer teams he participates in each season.

He scored 3 goals in this game!

A pretty average number for him.

GO KENT!

Birthday Goodies~

What a fun surprise I found

after "sneaking in" later that night

from Kent and I's late night

birthday movie fun!

Amy and Kris added to my birthday

fun giving me a cute balloon and a

very delicious chocolate cupcake!

They were sitting on a chair waiting

for me to enjoy. I put the balloon in

my car to keep with me all week while

I drove around visiting my kids. And

later in the day I met Chandra for lunch

at her office and we enjoyed my "day

after birthday cupcake" together!

Yum! Yum!

Still not 50! Whew!~

Another birthday has come! Oh my!!

It started off great since I had a really

nice cuddle with little miss Olivia.

My close friend Kris's granddaughter.

I stayed at Amy and Jeremy's home,

Kris's daughter, while in Provo.

Nothing like a sweet little girl to sit on

your lap and make your day brighter!

I had an pleasant birthday lunch with Bryce

then I had a great birthday dinner at one

of our favorite places "Cafe Rio."

Besides great food we had some great laughs!

In fact my sides hurt so much from laughing.

Getting Bryce, Tyler and Kent together can

open up a whole new line of conversation!

Afterwards Kent and I went to a late night movie.

Jet lagg only caused me to doze off a couple of times...

BYU Diver Back!~

My days of travel are still going strong

for the month of October into November!

Two days after Kim's departure I was

also headed to the U.S.

Needing to take care of business for our

home in Broomfield I also took advantage

of spending a week and half with my older

children living in Provo, Utah.

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed the time I spent with

Bryce, Kent, Chandra and Tyler!

One of the fun things I did during the week

was attend some of Bryce's diving practices.

It was great to see him back on the boards

again after two years off, due to both knees

needing surgery.

He's had some good practices and a meet.

He will be much busier with competition

after the first of the year.

Surprise Friend~

One of the first Sunday's back in Bonn,

after being home for the summer, was

meeting Laurie Ransom and her husband

Mike at the church meetings.

Mike is a Professor of Economics at BYU

and taking a sabbatical in Europe for the

Fall Semester. His wife Laurie joined him so

they could enjoy some of the traveling together.

Laurie and I had a GREAT time in Bonn!

She needed to have someone show her a

few basics around town and I needed to

be brave and play tour guide.

We made sure we toured the chocolate museum

(Heidi had to help us on that one),

ate yummy lunches, enjoyed walks along

the Rheine, and had some great chats.

It's wonderful to find a new friend in life!

Belgium or BUST!~

Another road trip!

Kim has never been to Belgium, imagine that.

After all the world traveling she's done!

Jim had to go to the office in Belgium during

the week, so Kim and I tagged along to see

some fun sights in a couple of cities. We

arrived late Tuesday night in Belgium.

The next morning Jim went in to work

after he dropped us off at the train station

to head to Ghent and then Brussels.

We were so HAPPY to find the center of Ghent!

Once off the train we thought it wouldn't be

much of a walk to the center of the city.

Well, it took us more than 30 minutes to

walk there. We kept wondering if we should

hop on one of the trams that would pass by

every few minutes, but thought "No, we just

need to go one more block...." Well, the upside

was meeting all the nice Belgiums we kept stopping

and asking if we were headed the right direction!

Such charming buildings in this city!

I was happy to come back after such

a quick trip here with my kids last year.

What cute buildings!

Kim and I were smart and asked how

to catch the tram back to the train station!

Of course that was another little adventure

in itself. When we boarded the tram I

asked if I could pay the driver directly.

She sent us off the tram and HELD THE TRAM,

that was bursting at the seams, while she

explained and watched us buy our tram tickets

at the ticket box and then had us reboard!

THANK GOODNESS we won't ever see

any of THOSE PEOPLE AGAIN!!!

We did a much smoother job of boarding

the hour long BIG TRAIN that took us

to the city of Brussels.

Here we are on the Old Grand Platz!

I always love the flower boxes

in front of the windows.

~The Grand Platz~

Just amazing!

Grand Platz night shot.

We were tired at the end of our day sight

seeing and shopping. Now we were

waiting for Jim to meet us on the

Grand Platz sqaure and take us to dinner.

We ate at Jim's favorite restaurant in Brussels.

After a couple of tries at bringing me here

previous visits it finally worked out to

enjoy a very delicious meal at Jim's very

pleasant favorite restaurant.

We drove home after dinner arriving late

and finding Cody already in bed. He enjoyed

staying at home alone for a night, with no

one to remind him to do anything!

It was a GREAT WEEK having Kim here

to visit! We enjoyed good food and

some fun shopping, and made sure

we got our fill of chocolate crepe's!

Early Birthday~

We had a nice morning at our church

meetings in Bonn. Everyone enjoyed

meeting Kim and I was able to introduce

her to some of my great ward friends.

Kim is the BEST EVER!!!

She carried beans and brown sugar all the

way from the U.S. to make one of my

favorite things...BAKED BEANS!!

(Her special recipe!)

And they were DELICIOUS!!

We celebrated my birthday a few days early,

Kim likes to age me faster. Ha! Ha!

Besides a really cool vest and top

I was thrilled to receive another precious

little "Wee Forest Folk", miniature mice, to

add to my growing collection!

The first one Kim gave me is the little mouse

waiting at the mailbox. Kim was hoping I

wouldn't forget to "write" while we live here.

Then she gave me the cute little birthday mouse

last year for my birthday, then I received the

darling little Christmas mouse in her cute red

coat. This year I got a little boy carrying a

birthday cake! They are SO SWEET!

My mom and sister, Kendra, were so thoughtful

to send gifts as well. I will enjoy using the

lotions and handmade potholders and bag.

The cards I received from family and friends

are always TREASURED!! Thank you!!!

One of my birthday gifts, from Jim, was

picking out my new Flower Child collectible.

A new figurine in the Kathe Wolfhart

Flower Children series.

Kim and I have been collecting them for over a decade.

This year was a little hydrangea flower girl.

Let The Shopping Begin!~

Cody and I returned to Germany on

Thursday, October 21st. The next

morning at 9am, I was already on

my way to Frankfurt to pick up my

best buddy Kim for the start of a

really fun week together!

We had a little trouble trying to

meet up in our small, little Cologne

airport last year. So this year we

decided we do much better connecting

in the SUPER SIZED airports! And we

didn't even have to use Kim's phone

she "rented" as a back up! Go figure!

From Frankfurt we drove to the wonderful

little, walled midevil town of Rothenberg.

Here is one of the popular views in Rothenberg.

After the typical, kind of uninteresting,

German breakfast....we headed out the door

to window shop and see what we would find.

Here we are on the main square with

some goodies already purchased,

including our collectibles!

I just LOVE the look of these

charming buildings!

Here we are in front of our

FAAAAAVOOOOORITE STORE!!!

A fun look at the street behind us.

The streets weren't so crowded

because we had to fight our way

through the REAL CROWDS in the

Kathe Wolfhart store!!

This is the darling bed and breakfast we

stayed in. We also stayed here more

than 10 years ago when Kim came to visit

us while we lived in Prague!

After a great overnight trip in Rothenberg

we headed home to Bonn, Germany.

Ireland Day Five~

Another adventure began Wednesday

morning taking a train trip to see the

well known 800 year old Malahide Castle.

As luck would have it, for the kids...

While on a 15 minute walk from train to castle

we came across a very entertaining park we couldn't

resist playing in, including the grown ups.

There were plenty of interesting things

to try and challenge each other on.

We had to promise we would go see

the castle then come back and spend

plenty of time playing in the park!

~Malahide Castle~

It was built in the seaside city of Malahide to

function as both a fortress and private home.

It has existed for close to 800 years.

It has been the residence of the Talbot

family from 1185 to 1973. At this time

the last Lord Talbot passed away.

We enjoyed a short tour and then

ate lunch inside the castle.

Well, who needs a castle to look at

when you have such a cool park nearby!

We spent at least an extra hour

here doing a few interesting things.

Such as climbing, slides, big bucket swings,

digging contraptions. Cody's favorite was

the zip line at one end of the park.

Here was a version of a peddeling

merry-go-round set on a metal track.

No one can really go flying off

one of these things....

Our day ended with the kids having

a great swim at the hotel. Then

Heidi and I got in our fun souvineer

shopping and a great night at dinner

with the other women on our trip.