Margaret's Visit

We had another last minute visitor just before the end of our time in Germany, and we're really glad that Margaret made the trip.  Spencer and I took Margaret to our favorite local places in Trier - the Roman ampitheatre, roman bath, the Porta Nigra, the market square and cathedrals.  

We also celebrated April Fools with "sponge cake."  I really tricked the kids and it was a lot of fun.  I called my neighbor and told her to send Ben and Delaney over for an afternoon snack.  The kids were confused that they couldn't cut into their cakes until I said "April Fools!"  I had some Little Debbie's cakes for their real snack.  

Allen took his mom to see the charming village of Bernkastel on the beautiful Mosel River.

Cochem Castle & Paris with Dave and Liz - March 2011

Dave and Liz came out to visit just a couple months before the end of our four year stay in Germany.  Dave was actually really sick at the beginning of their trip, but I hope they still had a great time.  Allen took some time off to show them around the local sites, they went to Venice for a couple days, and we took them to Cochem castle where Spencer got to have a candy coin from the treasure chest at the end of the tour.  We had some friends watch our kids, and we saw the sites of Paris with Dave and Liz. It was really freezing the weekend we were there, and it poured the day we got there, but we saw Notre Dame and then spent our time in the Louvre.  We just happened to be there on a night where local modern dance groups were performing.  They performed some odd numbers with growling animals and such - it was pretty amusing.  I often feel like we end up spending a lot of time in the metro, but it was great to have Dave and Liz there with us. We saw Versailles - I just love the garden there!  It's too bad it was still winter. This trip was the first time Allen and I had never seen the Eiffel Tower lit up.  It looks so much prettier at night!  We saw Sacre Couer and some juggling acts outside.  It was a beautiful day for our last day, we saw the Arc de Triomphe and some pretty stairs in the Swarovski crystal store.  Fun Trip!

Brayden's 6th Birthday - March 2011

 Kayla decorated Brayden's Power Ranger birthday cake.  We found cake painting markers at the store, and it turned out pretty cute.  We planned Brayden's party pretty last minute since Dave and Liz were coming to town and then we were going to have our house packed up a few days later.  The kids had a pizza movie night with friends and watched some of the Power Ranger shows.  They also played a few games and ate cake and ice cream.  My kids love the toilet paper mummy game!  Brayden had his breakfast of choice in bed the morning of his real birthday, opened presents from family and ate leftover cake and "dirt and worms" cupcakes (that he took to school) for his family birthday party.

Fun Homework

Kayla had a really fun homework project where she brought home a book, chose a character and then made a character mobile.

Basketball

Brayden played basketball for the first time, and it was a little bit of a tough learning experience.  He had never played at all, and then there were 3 boys on the team that were amazingly good.  They were just 5 and 6-year-olds, but they were definitely better than I am.  His coach said that based on their skills they could have easily played with the 9 and 10-year-olds.

Family

Funerals are sad, but they have a way of bringing families together.  Jared flew home from London, I flew home from Germany and Jenn and her family drove home from Utah to be there for my dad.  His wife, Mary, passed away at a young 56 years old.

Kayla's Baptism

February 2011

Kayla's cousins from London came for Kayla's baptism.  On Saturday we went to Happy Land, and on Sunday Kayla was baptized by her wonderful dad and received the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Kayla even got to wear a baptismal dress instead of jumpsuit.  She also got a new white dress.  Kayla's former primary teacher, Sister Thomas, gave the talk on baptism and gave her bread and honey butter as part of an object lesson.  Kayla, Jessenia, Sabrina, Marissa, Theron and Elizabeth sang the song "When I am Baptized."  It was really sweet.  I gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and her cousins and uncle shared stories and testimonies on baptism.  It was a really special day.  We were so glad that the Huish cousins came all the way out to visit and share the day with us.