Family Dinner

After church we got a quick bite to eat and then rested for a while.  David’s family came over for dinner and we BBQ’d.  We really enjoyed visiting with all of their family.  The weather was beautiful and kids played outside in the back yard while we chatted for hours.  As we lay in bed we wondered what the neighbors must have thought with all of the English talking they had heard. (I will blog later about the funny conversations about the Turks and Hispanics. 

His sister made a dessert called Quark.  It’s most similar to yogurt, but not really.  She whipped heavy cream and then mixed it together with the Quark with a little sugar.  Just before serving you mix it in fresh fruit (we had raspberries) and meringue dollops.  I couldn’t figure out the sweet crunchy things were until they told me.  It was very refreshing and the perfect end to the meal.

After cleaning up and more visiting we put the kiddos to bed and then sat out on the back porch and ate sampled several different kinds of German Chocolate that Eva had purchased for us.  It was delicious!  It’s hard to pick a favorite.  I was gazing when Eva asked me what I was thinking about….being honest I told her I was pondering how to fit as much chocolate in my suitcases as possible. 

We retired to bed and finished packing for Berlin.  We decided to go in backpacks to make it easier.  After everything was ready to go it didn’t take long to fall asleep.  The sky was clear tonight so it was the first time we could see all the stars as we laid in bed.  I think I need to add an addition to my house so I can have a window like this over my bed!  It’s awesome.  

Going To Church

On Sunday morning we were getting ready and I asked Eva what I could do to help.  They always say “nothing, you are our guests”.  (BTW I just keep doing the dishes anyway…..even though they tell me no).  They are the amazing hosts.  After asking again, I suggested maybe I could help do the girls hair.  Mia was excited when I told her I could put in a braid.  So after doing a cute little up-do and finding a flower I thought we were ready to go.  But then I realized Janna was upset.  I asked about what….she wanted her hair done too!  NO PROBLEMO!  I quickly found something for Janna’s hair and we were ready to go.  We walked to the car and headed to church.  We were running a little late and poor Eva was stressed because she said we wouldn't be able to find parking.  OK…..she wasn't kidding!  I said, no worries, I’m here, just drop us off, we’ll go in and you can find a place to park and then join us.  We got there just in time.  David was speaking and so my David went early with him to save seats.  This particular ward met in the chapel just adjacent to the temple.  It was a lovely sacrament meeting.  I didn’t understand much, but really loved hearing them sing the hymns.  Because I knew what the words should be, I could pick out a few words.  I learned how to pronounce a few more words while we sang and then just hummed along when I couldn’t figure it out.  An area seventy also spoke during the meeting and chatted with David afterwards.  He asked him why he didn’t speak any German.  David’s reply was “habla espanol?”  He just paused, said ok and then decided to speak to him in English.  

We met the two sets of elders for the ward and had a good time chatting and asking questions.  Elder Emery is the “famous” elder from Lone Peak BB team!  He had only been there 3 days.  When I realized who he was, I knew why he looked familiar to me.  He was happiest out of the bunch to have an English conversation with someone. 

After sacrament meeting, they divided the chapel into three sections for the other meetings.  The kids were all settled downstairs for primary and Sunday school started.  I followed along in my manual and scriptures whenever they quoted or read something, and David interpreted some of the comments so I could follow along. 

Relief society had a wonderful feeling to it, and it just felt like home, even in such different surroundings.  One of the brethren brought in a tiny table that they carefully arranged a little lace tablecloth on and placed a small vase of fresh flowers in the center.  How amazing is it that the sisters in the gospel do things so beautiful wherever they are, with whatever they have.  It wasn't grand or glorious but a genuine gesture of making something special and beautiful for a Relief Society meeting.  They sung As Sisters In Zion and I couldn't keep the tears from flowing down my cheeks.  It was beautiful!  The sister who taught the lesson glowed with the spirit and I could have stood up and testified that what she said was true even though I didn't have a clue what she had said.  I was surprised more than once that I was feeling teary, but then realized I was feeling the spirit, but didn't know what they were talking about.  I guess it speaks in any language.  It was just strange to not know what I was actually crying for?  Maybe others who have been in different countries have experienced this before......but it was a first for me. 

After church we walked the temple grounds with the kids and took some pictures.  On the way home we took an unplanned tour after getting slightly lost.  It was actually quite fun!

Saturday

Today we headed off early to the temple.  We dropped the kids off at David’s sisters on the way.  The streets by the temple we very windy and VERY narrow!  There was no parking at the temple so David dropped us off and we went inside to figure out where to rent clothing.  They told us we need to pay at the distribution center that was just across the front walk way.  After returning we checked out our clothing and got dressed.  The session was full to capacity, all 40 seats!  We were given headsets to listen in English.  It was delightful to listen to the German backing the English words.  I actually learned a lot because there is so much repetition.  The workers don’t all speak English but I just waited for the appropriate pause and did just fine.  We spent some time in the celestial room with David and Eva which was nice.  We are so often in a hurry!  Not having a deadline or somewhere to be was a welcomed change.  

We went back to David’s sisters to pick up the kids and they gave us a tour of their home.  They are building a new home so it was fun to see German construction that is modern.  About half way through I finally started to get a few things.  There is NO WOOD!!!!!  Wait????  What?  NO WALL BOARD?  So here is how they do it.

A foundation is poured from concrete, and then stones are set for all of the walls and structure on the first floor.  Then a cement slab is poured for the second floor etc.  This makes all of their walls very thick….about 8-9 inches thick.  She didn’t want the typical German stairs that wrap (spiral staircase) so they designed their home to have a straight stair case like we have in America.  It was funny to hear her tell me how difficult it was to design and have built this way.  She also loved seeing the laundry room on the main floor in America, so she had done this as well.  I should mention here that her washer and dryer would be considered the “big ones” here and they are VERY SMALL!!!!  

To finish the walls inside they coat them with a very thin coat of plaster, and sometimes use a version of what we would call wall paper, but is really like a plaster product.  I’m amazed after knowing that none of what I have seen is wall board, just how smooth they can get something.

 

Their bathrooms (except for 1) were still under construction so we got the see the inside of the German toilet.  The parts are all inside the wall, nothing is free standing like in America.  The bathrooms are all so small that if you put a toilet in like ours you wouldn’t be able to put in anything else.  Just the seat comes out of the wall, and then inset in the wall is a button to push to flush.  Because they are so “resource conscious” they are very careful with their water usage and have two buttons, one for “big” stuff and one for the little. 

It is not common here to have children share a room, but they use their space wisely and fit three lovely kids’ rooms into the upstairs in addition to their master.  I think we figured out that each level of this home was less than 650 Sq. feet, but it was so nicely organized that you didn’t feel like it was really that small.  I guess when you put smaller furniture, appliances etc. it makes a difference.

The land is very expensive here and in short supply so the “lots” are very tiny.  The yards (if they have one at all) are only as wide as the home.  There are very few single homes.  Eva drove us around town to look at a few of them.  Most are row houses or town houses with a few twin homes here and there.  David’s sisters were building together and their twin homes shared the boiler and other “guts” to save money.  They don’t have any forced air heated.  In the basements newer homes have radiant heat in the floors and the upstairs have radiators on the walls.  The windows all open wide which I have never seen before.  I really like them.  Not just slide open, OPEN OPEN!  The outsides have metal shades which are shut from the inside.  They not only protect from theft, block out light and make their homes complete dark, but also can be closed with any bad weather and protect their homes.

Because of the size of the walls (8-9 inches thick) the doors are all different.  They have a cut out flange on them that has a rubber gasket around it that completely seals every door in the home when closed.  I’ve only seen this in America on our outside doors.  This in addition with everything else, makes their homes extremely energy efficient.  It is pretty much un-heard of to have air conditioning.  But because the windows open so large, the air can flow freely in the morning and evening to cool off the home.  The flooring is tile or laminate.  Eva’s home has cork floors which are very nice to walk on.  They are softer under your feet than our hard wood and they are warm.  Wood is not commonly used.  Carpet is a big luxury here, and in this new home it was only put in the children’s bedrooms.  It’s not like American carpet; I don’t think there was a pad?  And it was more like a very tight industrial carpet.  They use lots of throw rugs and bamboo mats. With all of these hard wood floors through, they don’t really use brooms.  They vacuum them. 

Monochromatic décor is popular here.  And they use a lot of white.  White walls, cabinets, even floors with just a little splash of color.  I quite like it.  It’s a very clean look, but with small children would be difficult to keep clean.  They don’t use typical base boards and door casings because of the way they construct the home. 

Packing for Berlin

It's midnight here....I'm just finishing packing for berlin.  We leave at 0530 in the morning. I'll finish typing up the last two days on the train and post when I get wifi.  We spent Saturday in the temple, experienced grocery shopping.....German style, and then ended the day with a BBQ for Mia's school. Today we went to church and then had a family party with some more amazing food!  After the kids were in bed, we ate 3 different kinds of chocolate on the back patio enjoying the amazing weather and the very late sunset (after 9pm).

My David is snoring because I stopped for just a minute to type.  Guess I better get finished and into bed.  Love you all.

Ps I have some very yummy new things to cook when I get home!

Saturday BBQ

Saturday evening we joined Mia’s class party.  It was super fun to socialize and get to know the parents and other children in her school class.  It was held at a private park associated with a church.  They had restored ruins there and grave stones from the 1500’s.  There was a memorial by the tower where there was once a girl who was held captive there after she was caught helping the poor.  The kids tried to translate the plaques for us. 

There is one American girl in Mia’s class whose dad is working there in town.  Her parents were amazing and expecting their 7^th child in a few weeks.  I spent quite a bit of time talking with her.  They have lived in other countries as well and it was fun to hear about the differences.  She was a little nervous about delivering here, and I happy to let her vent about the difference in the medical systems.  Later I asked Eva and David more questions about insurance and medical care….more about that in a later post.

Many people speak some English and most are excited to engage in a conversation.  The pot luck food was fabulous.  I didn’t try anything that I didn’t like.  I loved the salads!  My favorite was a corn and tomato salad with little tiny cubes of Gouda with herbs and cilantro.  I had more than one helping of it.  There were multiple potato salads and one that was fresh potato and cucumber salad from southern Germany.  My David loved it, and I thought it was ok.  Basically, it was grated cucumbers, grated potatoes, salt pepper and vinegar. 

We played games after dinner and chatted around the fire until it was time to go.  It got quite cold in the evening, and I didn’t bring a sweat shirt with me to the BBQ.  I’ll have to remember that!  The sun sets very late here in the summer, and so my internal clock is very messed up.  I keep asking what time is it?

A New Way to Look at Life

Today we headed off early to the temple.  We dropped the kids off at David’s sisters on the way.  The streets by the temple we very windy and VERY narrow!  There was no parking at the temple so David dropped us off and we went inside to figure out where to rent clothing.  They told us we need to pay at the distribution center that was just across the front walk way.  After returning we checked out our clothing and got dressed.  The session was full to capacity, all 40 seats!  We were given headsets to listen in English.  It was delightful to listen to the German backing the English words.  I actually learned a lot because there is so much repetition.  The workers don’t all speak English but I just waited for the appropriate pause and did just fine.  We spent some time in the celestial room with David and Eva which was nice.  We are so often in a hurry!  Not having a deadline or somewhere to be was a welcomed change.  

We went back to David’s sisters to pick up the kids and they gave us a tour of their home.  They are building a new home so it was fun to see German construction that is modern.  About half way through I finally started to get a few things.  There is NO WOOD!!!!!  Wait????  What?  NO WALL BOARD?  So here is how they do it.

A foundation is poured from concrete, and then stones are set for all of the walls and structure on the first floor.  Then a cement slab is poured for the second floor etc.  This makes all of their walls very thick….about 8-9 inches thick.  She didn’t want the typical German stairs that wrap (spiral staircase) so they designed their home to have a straight stair case like we have in America.  It was funny to hear her tell me how difficult it was to design and have built this way.  She also loved seeing the laundry room on the main floor in America, so she had done this as well.  I should mention here that her washer and dryer would be considered the “big ones” here and they are VERY SMALL!!!!  

To finish the walls inside they coat them with a very thin coat of plaster, and sometimes use a version of what we would call wall paper, but is really like a plaster product.  I’m amazed after knowing that none of what I have seen is wall board, just how smooth they can get something. 

Their bathrooms (except for 1) were still under construction so we got the see the inside of the German toilet.  The parts are all inside the wall, nothing is free standing like in America.  The bathrooms are all so small that if you put a toilet in like ours you wouldn’t be able to put in anything else.  Just the seat comes out of the wall, and then inset in the wall is a button to push to flush.  Because they are so “resource conscious” they are very careful with their water usage and have two buttons, one for “big” stuff and one for the little. 

It is not common here to have children share a room, but they use their space wisely and fit three lovely kids’ rooms into the upstairs in addition to their master.  I think we figured out that each level of this home was less than 650 Sq. feet, but it was so nicely organized that you didn’t feel like it was really that small.  I guess when you put smaller furniture, appliances etc. it makes a difference.

The land is very expensive here and in short supply so the “lots” are very tiny.  The yards (if they have one at all) are only as wide as the home.  There are very few single homes.  Eva drove us around town to look at a few of them.  Most are row houses or town houses with a few twin homes here and there.  David’s sisters were building together and their twin homes shared the boiler and other “guts” to save money.  They don’t have any forced air heated.  In the basements newer homes have radiant heat in the floors and the upstairs have radiators on the walls.  The windows all open wide which I have never seen before.  I really like them.  Not just slide open, OPEN OPEN!  The outsides have metal shades which are shut from the inside.  They not only protect from theft, block out light and make their homes complete dark, but also can be closed with any bad weather and protect their homes.

Because of the size of the walls (8-9 inches thick) the doors are all different.  They have a cut out flange on them that has a rubber gasket around it that completely seals every door in the home when closed.  I’ve only seen this in America on our outside doors.  This in addition with everything else, makes their homes extremely energy efficient.  It is pretty much un-heard of to have air conditioning.  But because the windows open so large, the air can flow freely in the morning and evening to cool off the home.  The flooring is tile or laminate.  Eva’s home has cork floors which are very nice to walk on.  They are softer under your feet than our hard wood and they are warm.  Wood is not commonly used.  Carpet is a big luxury here, and in this new home it was only put in the children’s bedrooms.  It’s not like American carpet; I don’t think there was a pad?  And it was more like a very tight industrial carpet.  They use lots of throw rugs and bamboo mats. With all of these hard wood floors through, they don’t really use brooms.  They vacuum them. 

Monochromatic décor is popular here.  And they use a lot of white.  White walls, cabinets, even floors with just a little splash of color.  I quite like it.  It’s a very clean look, but with small children would be difficult to keep clean.  They don’t use typical base boards and door casings because of the way they construct the home. 

First Impressions

We arrived early into Frankfurt.  The county is beautiful from the air!  GREEN!!!!  Flying in I could see multiple solar power fields and windmills.  The rivers define the boundaries here and the rest of the roads are just fit in where ever.

The airport did not have a gate for us, so came off the airplane out in the "air plane parking lot" and were bused back to the terminal.  We waiting in line for the passport checks and then on to baggage.  Found our bags just fine and they weathered the trip well, all except the big duffle bag - but that's ok because I got a great deal on it from Down East Home so no tears about that one.

I was nervous we wouldn't be able to find EVA, but a soon as we came around the next corner, there she was!  Sweet little Luzian was asleep in the stroller.  We hiked to the car.  OK.....German parking lot!  You really knew you were not in america.  First they were all SMALL!  But oh, so nice.  Eva's mini van from the states looked like our 15 passenger van.  We loaded up and she skillfully navigated her way out of the parking garage.  It was the equivalent of driving our 15 passenger van in down town Chicago.  The streets are small, and the garages even smaller.  There was a few inches of clearance on either side.

We headed back to their house.  The neighbor hood is beautiful.  Little road made from bricks.  They live in what we would call a town home.  Their street is a No parking street, it's only for playing so we unloaded the car but then she parks on the street behind them.  Her house is just darling.  I'll take some pictures and post them in the next day or so.  

We drove to pick up the girls from gymnastics, and I decided I was really glad we were not going to drive while we are here.  Narrow doesn't really do justice for the roads!  And they twist and turn like I've never seen.  We spent the evening chilling and figuring out the rail system for our travels next week.  Eva made a delicious meal for dinner and we tried several kinds of cheese.  GOODBYE diet!  The pretzels were amazing and then she told me they were out of a box.  I wonder if I could get those home.

We crashed hard last night.  Slept great and woke up to the sounds of a bird singing a song unlike any I've heard before.  I'll have to figure out what kind of bird it is.  Or maybe they just sing birdie in German too?  We are sleeping in the newly remodeled attic....it's very amazing.  The window above our bed is the neatest thing you have ever seen.

We are headed to the temple this morning, and then Eva and I are going to go do some shopping.  We will go with Mia tonight to her school BBQ.   Hope everything at home is going well.  Give my kiddos a hug if you seen them.  Miss them so much already!  I'll squeeze a little one on this end to get in my mommy hugs.   Love you all!

In flight Dinner

We were served a lovely little dinner of pasta, potato salad and carrot cake.  The bread was something from ______ and I don’t want to go there again.  It was Rye (which I don’t mind) but it was moist and flat, completely un-leavened and cold!  All in all, I think it was great, except I can tell I’m going to need more Carafate on the trip than I thought.  I wonder what they have in Germany that is equal to that?

After Dinner we settled in.  There was a movie on, but I couldn’t get to my headphones easily.  Note to self…….practice pulling things out of your carry on bag with your eyes closed while sitting in one of your kitchen cupboards.  It’s like a sick game of twister!  The couple seated in front of us is nice, but are taking way too much of their purchased space on the plane.  The wife keeps having her husband adjust her 2 normal sized pillows from home, which are slipping through the side of the seat an invading 4 inches of my 8 inches of room.  I’ve politely asked her to move her pillow so I could adjust my tray, and she was resistant.  I really hoped she would notice it was shoved clear back into my space, but within about 20 seconds, she asked in a hurried voice, “are you done yet so I can put my pillow back?”  Oh well, hopefully she doesn’t have something awful since I’m going to be very close to her pillow for several hours.

After all the work to get out my head set, I got them plugged in and…….you guessed it, the movie was in GERMAN.  RATS!!!!  I flipped though the channels and settled on some soothing classical music.  Within a few minutes, I was in my own “LITTLE” world and sleeping……sort of.  I was surprised at what woke me up.  Sensing any shift in speed or attitude reminded my ears and stomach we were actually moving.  I slept on and off till about midnight (home time) and then got out the trusty iPad, played all my lives of candy crush and any  bingo game that didn’t require the internet.  Then I decided I could catch up on some conference talks.  The one that stood out to me was from L Tom Perry titled Obedience to the Law is Liberty.  I LOVED THAT TALK.  I got much more out of it studying it along with some of my original notes.  It was a good reminder that we are here to exercise our use of agency, and the choice is really ours.  How we act or react is completely up to us. 

The kiddos on the flight were all sound asleep until several hours later when the youngest (probably 6 months) woke up very unhappy.  Her poor mama.  After some soothing and help from the flight attendants, she was back asleep and the mom breathed a sigh of relief.  I got up to use the bathroom and was a little confused as the information on the door is in German and there were no pictures.  I finally just guess and sure enough it was the toilet.  I practiced a little German while I was in there; soap, flush etc. are all very important words. 

The sun came up early, and it was bright!  I was annoyed that while the majority of the plane was still asleep, passengers kept opening their shades.  It was like blinding someone at the movies with a mag light……..PLEASE PEOPLE!!!!  After a while I noticed that the cabin lights were being adjusted very slowly, and over about 30 minutes the lights were back up.  How nice of them not to just turn them on.  Can you imagine if they did that?

They started serving breakfast and I was really excited.  I could see the trays they were passing out and it looked delicious.  OOPS, forgot that the row in front of us turns from premium economy to just economy.  Our economy breakfast consisted of a very yummy hot roll, a meat and cheese slice and a small plate of fruit.  Luckily for me, it was all melon, so David wouldn’t eat it.  It was pretty good.  Maybe we will consider upgrading our meals for the flight home.  There are many who have and there is a stark difference!

The cabin TV’s show us on a map every so often.  We flew up over Canada and Greenland, over the ocean across Ireland and England and now we are almost in Germany.  It puts up our speed, altitude, temperature etc.  It’s pretty cool what technology can provide now a day.  Most of our flight has been at 36,000 feet and we go anywhere from 540-560 miles an hour.  The outside air temperature up here is stated to be -70 Fahrenheit.  No wonder the bags are cold when you pick them up.  We are scheduled to land in Frankfurt 90 minutes ahead of schedule and I’m grateful for a slightly shorter flight. 

Hopefully customs will go well and our bags will arrive and be in one piece. 

PS  I’m grateful that working 20 years of nights has prepared me so well for JET LAG.  You should see how bad the people look on the plane……..I wonder if that’s how I look after working????  But after just sitting here and catching multiple naps……I feel pretty darn good.  

In Flight Reflections

We are safety cruising now at 33,000 feet and just passing over Denver, Co.  What an amazing sight the Grand Canyon is from above!  We are expected to land on time tomorrow after a slightly shorter flight than planned because of favorable weather conditions. 

While we waited at the gate to board I had several re-occurring thoughts.  The first was how funny the gate attendants were as they changed their minds over and over.  One sweet slightly older German lady kept saying you don’t need your passport, only your boarding ticket and state they were starting in rows 40-45.  Then a gentleman would come on and say, please have your boarding passes with your passport open to your photo in your hand and say we were boarding rows 14-19 first.  They alternated multiple times, when a younger lady then came over the speakers and we started boarding….no passport needed, and starting in the rear of the plane.  I’m not sure why I got such a chuckle out of this except to say that is makes me feel slightly better about my own “off” days at work when we un-intentionally give out miss information.  Our fellow passengers were very nice at the gate, very docile, and most just waited their turn.  Only a few rushed the gate when they called for those traveling with children or who “need a little extra time”.  I made a comment under my breath that was louder than I thought because several people around giggled when I commented on the “rushers” need to board because they needed more time.  BTW, how nice to NOT use the word handicapped or elderly etc.  The condor crew have been extremely nice happy individuals to be with.

The other things noticed by many passengers, including ourselves, were the large number of children at the gate.  WOW!  They weren’t quiet, or well behaved.  One gentleman seated by us sent his wife out on a mission to figure out where they were going to be seated on the plane……so funny.  As if he could do anything about it now.  I thought, maybe they are just getting it all out ahead of time.  I remember the stares we got when traveling with the girls.  Can you imagine seeing us at the gate?  I was always relieved, as I received countless compliments after “good” flights with the kids from the nervous passengers surrounding us.

As we made our way down the ramp and onto the plane, the Vegas heat was stifling.  The very sweet young man working at the door said it was 107 already out there!  Can you believe working outside on the tarmac in such heat?  I hope they get paid well. 

Once on the plane we didn’t have very many rows to go before we arrived at row 15.  David and I are seated in the two seats on the right side of the plane.  It is set up with 2, 3, 2 across.  There was a very cute little white pillow and freshly laundered blue blanket on each of our seats which made me smile.  I had tried to figure out how to bring a blanket or pillow but with all of the weight and size restrictions, it just didn’t’ happen.  I almost paid a premium in the airport, but decided my sweat shirt would suffice.  We got ourselves settled and the pre-flight instructions played in both German and English.  I’m pretty surprised how much I got out of the German version!  I might understand a little more than I thought.  I’m pretty rusty on my numbers though.  The captain is very GERMAN and has a sense of humor.  There was a slight delay and so I settled in.  I used my very cute little white pillow against the window and I’m not sure how much time passed before I realized we were moving and taking off.  The jet fuel smells just like the helicopters landing/taking off at the hospital.  We are sitting right in front of the massive engine, but I’ve got a great view out of my window. 

It must be a very long runway…….seemed like forever before actually lifting off.  But then once airborne it was very smooth.  The bird’s eye view of Vegas was amazing.  The detail in how the city was laid out, perfect large blocks, all the houses in rows.  Then there would be one section with one curved road through the middle of it?????? Seriously, now why would that bug me?  The main streets never faltered in being perfectly square.  Then there would be an entire neighborhood with the streets set on a weird angle.  I wonder who lives in neighborhoods like those.   There was one area that appeared to have a large manmade lake, and then houses surrounding it, with roads out in the middle like a little peninsula…..so each and every one had “Lake Front”.  I wonder what that neighborhood is called.  Does anyone know?  It was cool, right in the middle of the dessert.  I’m sure it’s $$$ to live there.

After we were airborne the flight crew served “welcome” drinks.  Free alcohol for everyone (over 18 that is).  Hmmmmm, are they onto something here?  I just had a plain jane diet coke with ice.  Kind of boring after seeing the rest of the pretty drinks.   Dave broke out the gobstoppers and we sipped our welcome drinks and felt just as good as those feeling a little more relaxed with alcohol. 

It was then I broke out the computer and started typing.  I’ve tried to post from the iPad, but honestly, can’t stand the keyboard.  It was nice to type freely on the netbook.  And so that brings me to right now, the seat belt sign just went on, the little carts filled with meals are being whisked away.  I’m thinking we have something in our future……turbulence.  YEP, the captain just said, sorry folks, we didn’t expect this, and it shouldn’t be for too long.  When the lead flight attendant came on, she explained that the meal would be delayed for a while.  She apologized and justified her decision to ask the team to defer serving dinner until it was safer for the crew to be about the cabin, and it would be more enjoyable to eat.  It’s great that she gave an explanation like that.  We could learn a lot about a service oriented industry that has firm boundaries by patterning after the airlines. 

There is a boss – the head honcho – the captain.  He very nicely introduced her in the beginning as the “one in charge of the cabin” and that she would make sure that first and fore most our safety was her job, but that her team would do everything they could do to make our trip enjoyable.  Wouldn’t it be awesome if the people directly in charge of something were given that kind of public un-conditional backing?  The crew has been well trained in being polite, but clearly stating the boundaries.  Apologizing for known inconveniences or changes to the plan, but stating they would reconcile them as best they can and in a timely manner.  Then keeping everyone informed of any updates.   I think you would be pretty stupid to not be able to figure out why they were delaying dinner, but their willingness to acknowledge that, and thank you in advance for your patience is very empowering for both parties.  I wonder how that would go down at the bedside in the NICU?  Would it be something like, “I realize that I will not be readily available to answer your questions while I give your next nurse important information about your baby.  I appreciate your cooperation and patience to allow us to be effective and punctual, even though at times it may seem inconvenient for you.”   In an effort to be available and to keep patients happy, we have dissolved lots of boundaries that make our day to day bedside nursing tasks very difficult.  I guess I have something to try when I get home.  I think I often feel like, “I told this mom she could _______, but now we are admitting another baby.  How am I going to get all this done.”  It’s really no different than having dinner ready for 300 passengers and putting it all away because you can’t control the weather.

lines, lines and more lines

 The new terminal 3 here is beautiful.   The Q system is better than the dairy industry....and cattle might be better behaved. First to get boarding pass and pass port check, then to check seats and luggage.  The  first security line to check passports then body scan line.  Line for currency exchange.  Whewww.  W are waiting at the gate ready to go. 

People watching is a blast.  Can i ask why you would take a 12 hour flight in heels, mini skirt and tank top?  Glad I'm comfy in my sweats!  

Love you all

Germany......here we come!

The day is finally here!  Dave and I are at the airport in Las Vegas waiting to check in for our flight.  Getting out of the house was just as I thought it would be........rough.  We pulled out of Provo late....and checked into our hotel in Las Vegas REALLY late, but had a good nights sleep and are ready to go.  It's hot here......I guess it's the dessert, but now inside the airport I'm thinking I need my sweat shirt.

After moping all day, Sugar wouldn't say goodbye last night.  She knew.......do dogs really under and English?  KC couldn't find her last night, but eventually found her under our bed.  I hope she will do ok.  She has been pretty bent out off shape with CJ gone.  Maybe she will be ok with some face time or skype.  I don't think the ducks or bunny will mind if we are gone:)

The girls were not happy that I made them clean before we left, but the reward of spending the first two nights with their best little friends was worth it.  Madi eventually found her smile and wasn't teary when we stopped by to say goodbye as we left town.  It was nice to hear their sweet voices this morning on the phone.......I think they know I'm super nervous for the flight.  Our flight is 11:20 long and it will be afternoon tomorrow when we get there.  Loosing a day is pretty weird!  But I guess we get one back at the end.

If you need us we will only have Dave's phone while we are there.  Ill try and post as often as we have wifi to let you all know where we are and what we are doing.  We will check email and face book messages whenever we have wifi.

That's all for now.  I'm going to go find some diet coke and take some zofran.

Catching UP!

I'm WAY behind on blogging!  I realized this when several people sent emails or texts asking if things were OK because I hadn't posted in so long.

Here's the scoop.......Summer started, we played hard together as a family, worked hard together as a family, and spent many lazy summer days together as a family.  I was blogging during "down time" that disappeared when summer came and I was surrounded 24/7 by all of the kids.  Carving out a few more minutes in the day to blog just never happened.  I wrote lots of entries on my new net book, and journal in good ole fashioned ink, but couldn't figure out how to post from anything but the big computer.  As summer continued, life began to get more complicated.  My dad was diagnosed with liver failure and we started the process of getting him listed for a liver transplant - more on that later.  Grandma Jo is still alive and kickin' at Jamestown and keeps us moving and ensures that there is never a dull moment.   KC has progressed amazingly well, but with the start of school we've been forced back into some of the reality of it all.

All of that mixed with family reunions, getting the kids settled in school, work, church callings,  a couple of weddings and funerals make up the last three months.  My plan is to post the events/and already written entries now that the kids are in school and I can spend a few minutes catching up on everything that I'm behind on. 

When I first started blogging my goal was to record my experiences as a mom, wife, sister, and daughter so that my children and anyone else could know and learn from all of the normal ups and downs of life.  I've benefited more from my blog than probably anyone else ever will, so that makes it all worth it.  Hopefully as I go back and fill in the summer gaps I won't drive anyone crazy!  If I do, you can just join me and we will go crazy together.

Muffin's Wedding

We traveled to Colorado this weekend for Muffin's wedding.  Muffin (a.k.a. Leslie) is the daughter of David's cousin Vanessa, daughter of Uncle Jerry and Aunt Wanda. 

We decided to take the little car and send the boys with Uncle Cliff.  They were going to take their trail blazer either way and it all sounded like a great idea.  Caravan with them, save money on gas, little car is easier to park and get around in, could easily fit everything into the trunk.  WELL, let me just say that I'd give about a million buck right now to have 7 feet of van space between the girls and the front seat!

A much deserved rest stop at Mcdonalds!

I'm probably exaggerating, but I never fully appreciated the interior space of the GAS HOG other wise known as the BUS.  We have NEVER traveled in anything smaller since the girls were born so I had no idea what I really appreciated about it.  For starters, just the amount of space that separates the passengers from the drivers is amazing.  Being able to tolerate the happy giggling for hours on end,  with only 1 cubic feet of space from their little mouths to your ears is just too much to handle.   I must admit that when we travel we usually take out the front bench and put the kids as far back as possible. The obvious benefit of more bench room is invaluable.  The back seat of the focus has always seemed adequate while running errands, dropping kids off to school or a trip up to SLC.  BUT it's not enough space to live in for 8 hours while you drive to Colorado! 

OK, now the good parts.  The girls can still sleep in the car (even though they were pretty much on top of each other), we got great gas mileage and enjoyed our satellite radio (we don't have it in the van) on our trip. 

Aside from getting there and getting home, we really enjoyed our time spent with family.  The kids have always LOVED Jerry and Wanda so it was fun to see their home and spend time there too.   We were joined by most of David's other siblings and enjoyed spending time with them also.  We are greatful to Aunt Susie who make us all laugh with her "Salsa" incident.  I will never eat Pace picante sauce again without visualizing Susie in Aunt Wanda's kitchen with Salsa everywhere.  A big thank you to Aunt Wanda for being so willing to have us invade her home for the weekend.

We opted to stay at a hotel to make it a little bit more of a vacation for the kids since we didn't go anywhere else this year. We had adjoining suites with Liz and Cliff.   The kids enjoyed the pool, the "breakfast" of whatever their little hearts desired and playing games all night long with Liz, Cliff and Jerry.   Uncle Cliff bought them each special junk food when I wasn't present.....and voila.....a happy little vacation for everyone. 

 Thanks Cliff for taking the kids to the pool while we ran to Target. 

 It doesn't matter what the sign says, Cliff you can be our lifeguard......I think?

 David and I spent one morning at one of the manufacturing facilities for his company.  It was fun to see how they put all of the instruments together. When we got to the car, we knew we were in Colorado because there was this cute little bunny sitting by our car.

The wedding was amazing.  It was held at a little ranch up on the side of the mountain.  I just want to add here that you should believe the GPS rather than the nice old man who asks you if you are lost and then says, "Follow me, I'll take you right there!" 

It was nice to have the hotel bathroom space to get everybody ready.  The girls had planned their "hair do's" ahead of time and I almost didn't get all of that hair pinned up in enough time.  I guess you could consider this a practice run for the future:) 

Uncle Tom (David's brother) performed the ceremony.

 

While we waited for the wedding party to be photographed we enjoyed drinks and hors d'oeuvres.  The girls caught onto the "bar" concept right away and drank their share of root beer and sprite.  We kept ourselves busy catching up with extended family and taking photo's. 



The girls were escorted by their "big" cousins.  Alexis, Kiersten and Madilynn adore each and every one of their cousins.  We are so happy that they are part of our lives!

 THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!!!!  Just check out the smiles on these girls.  They are having a blast. 

 Melonie, Andrea, Jordan, Nathan (in no particular order) and Don

 KC helping Grandma Mullen

 Grandma Mullen and her handsome Grandsons!

 All of the grandkids at the wedding with Grandma Mullen.  Well, almost all of them.  Where is CJ?

 I decided I didn't like the stairs and fountain......lets move everyone and try this photo again.

 AHHHHH, much better and NOW you can see that I think we found all of the grandkids this time. They are good looking group of kids.   

 Group hugs --  CAREFUL -- don't knock Grandma over!

 Don & Melonie

 Rob & Tracy

Aunt Wanda & Uncle Jerry with the Triplets

 

The boys were seated at a table with the other "big" cousins.  David and I sat with the girls along with Aunt Pat, Var and Laura.  Not knowing how formal the dinner would be, we reviewed ahead of time what to do if there was more than one fork........the girls were very disappointed there was only ONE fork at the table when we sat down.  The boys were relieved.  Oh well, maybe I'll have to set more forks for dinner occasionally. 

 If you look closely at the table, the boys reserved a space to honor Aunt Martha.  Right in between KC and Jerry. 

Dinner was great and the girls entertained our table exceptionally well.  The toasts came next.  The girls had been waiting anxiously to use that special, tall elegant glass.  I prepped them that they could pour water in it to drink when the time came, but that they would not be getting alcohol.   When the hostess came around she poured sparkling cider in their glasses.  After all the prep I had done, Alexis said politely, "Thank you, but I'll just have water, I don't drink alcohol."  I showed her the difference between the two bottles and she was tickled that her drink bubbled just like the champagne.   The hostess continued around the table.  She poured cider in my glass then Madi's then Laura requested champagne.  Out of the mouths of babes....Madi very nicely says, "Aunt Laura, I know you are an adult, and can make your own choices, BUT that is really not very healthy for you and alcohol can make you feel bad and make you do strange things."  It was one of those moments that you wish you had never given your child those words to say, and at the same time it's all the truth and maybe it's  not so bad to say those things after all.........  Over the next little bit Madi would lean over to Laura and ask, "Do you feel different yet?" Then she would lean over to me and whisper, "she's not acting strange yet."  I guess we are ready for our next discussion on alcohol and it's effects on our bodies.  Hopefully Laura didn't mind Madilynn's attempt at evaluating the effects of drinking one glass of champagne. 

The very best part came next......the DANCING.  The girls didn't hold back!  Out they went to the dance floor.  They danced their little hearts out. 

 Learning how to line dance

 Private dancing lessons from Uncle Rob

 Go Uncle Rob and Aunt Melonie - you guys are AWESOME!

 All good things must come to an end.  After hours of fun we told the girls they must say goodnight and we said our goodbyes.  The boys escaped early with Cliff who was in need of peace, quiet and some extra "pills".  I really thought the girls would fall asleep on the way back to the hotel, but they were on cloud nine.  Kiersten kept saying this was the best night of their whole life.  "Leslie is a real life princess!"  The wedding fulfilled every dream our little trio has ever had, and hopefully Leslie and Ryan's too! 

Goodbye Muffin - We love you!

Congrats to you Leslie and Ryan!  We hope this is the beginning of a long wonderful life together.  Thanks for letting us be part of your special day.