Time to Celebrate!~

My friend Kim gets to celebrate another birthday!!!

You'll just have to wonder about which year she's celebrating...

You'd be surprised!

We had a fun day shopping and eating, 

and of course lots of chatting!

Coreen's Got a Date!~

I got a text asking me to go on a date Wednesday night.

And it wasn't from my husband.....

My son Kent was my "hot" date!

He took me out for a delicious Mexican dinner

and a great movie.

Somebody's gotta take care of me while Jim's away!

Fourth of July Fizzler-

With our Fourth of July being a fizzler,

Cody and Tanner tried to make up for it

the next morning, in a small way....

Free fireworks were on the short order list

for getting to see any anything shot off.

I figured at 9am in our backyard two 

teenage boys can't do that much damage!

No fingers got burned...or houses for that matter.

The 4th of July With No Sparks~

4th of July 2010!!!

Our day started off hopeful....

After our church meetings we enjoyed

one of Grandma's great spaghetti dinners.

Not exactly a traditional 4th of July meal

but very delicious.

Kent, Coreen, Cody

We flew our flag in honor of our wonderful country!

Kent, Grandma, Cody

The picture shows the storm clouds headed

our way.  Unfortunately they became so intense 

Broomfield cities firework show was cancelled!

Many areas along the front range experienced 

intense rain, hail, tornado and flash flood warnings.

Mother Nature gave us her own "firework show!"

Basketball Buddies~

Once home and giving and getting some

great hugs for each other we settled right in.

One of the first things the Kent and Cody got

right to was some fun basketball time!

Colorado Here We Come!~

Summer has officially begun-for Cody!!!

Coreen and Cody are headed to Colorado to

spend time with family and friends, play,

earn money at some summer jobs, 

and fulfill some food cravings.....

We left July 25th and will be in 

Colorado for 7 weeks!!!

Cody had time to crash in the London airport

with our layover being so long.

Belated Father's Day~

Jim is notorious for traveling and missing

holiday's or special days.

The only day he has never missed celebrating

with us is Christmas Day.

Father's Day did not happen until today.

Jim left directly from church this past Sunday

and flew to Portugal for meetings, he returned today.

Cody gave some good hugs to make up for

his siblings not being here.

Bryce, Chandra and Kent sent Jim very

nice notes on Sunday.

We had a little fun opening gifts and spending

the evening together before Cody and Coreen

head to Colorado tomorrow morning.

Happy Belated Father's Day Dad!!!

Awards and Friends~

Bonn International School

Award Ceremony for the Secondary School

Many students were recognized for a variety

of accomplishments such as grades, leadership,

music, sports, classwork, service and much more.

Cody was VERY SUPRISED when he received the

award for Grade 9 "BEST EFFORT in GERMAN"!

Some of Cody's closest friends this year:

Dobbie (Phillip), Divya, Nash and Cody

Dobbie, Ally, Qi-yao, Henry, Cody

Qi-yao, Cody, Sabina, Dobbie

Cody and Dobbie

Ms. Box-Sports instructor-jumping in the fun...

Vivek, Cody, Dobbie

And that wraps up Cody's 9th Grade year of school!!!

World Cup Fans in Germany~

The World Cup Fans in Germany display their

loyalty so it can't be missed!

This banner is strung up on the street below ours.

It was placed there quite a few days before the

world cup even started. There are also many

windows displaying the German colors as well.

We see cars everywhere in Bonn with miniature flags

attached to windows and side mirrors with fun

coverings on them as well. Just before today's game

people were on their bikes holding or wearing flags.

Later Cody and I were out during the game and we

noticed the streets were very quiet with minimal traffic.

They take these world cup games seriously!

BIS Secondary Sports Day~

Cody's school hosted their upperclassman field day.

Cody first participated in the 3000 meter relay.

He is in the blue sweats and white t-shirt.

He also had fun doing the high jump.

There were team building games to cheer for.

These are the secondary students grades 6 thru 11.

Cody was one of the team members in the 4 x 400.

The handoff!

It was a fun day with classmates despite the

cooler weather...better than being in classrooms!

Anniversary Celebration~

Jim and I were invited to participate in a

wonderful celebration with our German friends.

Sabina and Gunther Stein celebrated their

25th Wedding Anniversary!

They chose to host a party having family and

friends help celebrate this happy occassion.

We enjoyed a wonderful evening!

I am so happy Sabina speaks English or we

could not enjoy such a great friendship!

Coreen, Sabina, Heidi

Violin and flute solos were

a pleasant part of the evening.

Nadine and Chris Meyer, ward friends, shared

a very cute skit. It epitomized, very well,

a conversation a wife TRIES to have with

her husband about which dress he thinks

she looks the best in, he's noncommittal....

We can ALL relate to this kind of

conversation, right?!

Sabina and Gunther led the way on the dance

floor showing us how well they dance the foxtrot.

I missed capturing the picture of, AT LEAST

fifteen couples, young and old also dancing the foxtrot.

I think we Americans have unfortunately lost

the art of beautiful ballroom dancing.

It was quite an impressive sight!

We enjoyed good food and great conversation!

Coreen and Jim enjoying the night out!

For a tangible memory of the evening

we all contributed a bit of artistic talent

on a blank canvas.

Sabina graciously sent me home with one of

the flower arrangements from the evening.

These are the same beautiful colors

Chandra used for her wedding in April.