High School Football & Homecoming

Now that the high school football season is over and the gear is turned in, I thought it would be a great time to add some pictures of Brandon during the season.

(Brandon in his practice jersey w/Aunt Kay)

(Brandon # 58 waiting for the game to start)

(Brandon on the line 2nd from left)

(Kaylin cheering for brother in the stands)

After the homecoming game last Saturday, Brandon and Devyn got all dressed up and headed to their highschool homecoming dance. I can't believe much they have grown.

(Prince charming)

(Pretty as a princess)

(They are all grown up)

Grandma & The Aunts come to visit

During the month of September we were fortunate to have Grandma Pat and Aunt Kerry, Aunt Kay and Aunt Kim come to Germany for a visit. It was wonderful to see them. Kent was thrilled to see his mom and sisters after two years of living here.

(Kent and his Mom)

During their two week visit we had a wonderful time visiting different sites all over Germany, taking a family trip to Italy and having a BBQ with some friends here at the house.

(Friends & Family at BBQ) (Kate, Kim, Kassi, & Kerry) (My boss Rich, his Partner Tindy & I)

I had the opportunity to take our visitors on a whirlwind trip to Bavaria. We traveled to the walled city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber where we shopped for Christmas ornaments at the Käthe Wohlfahrt store.

After we headed towards Munich. On the way to Munich we stopped off to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp.

After the concentration camp visit we headed into downtown Munich where we saw the world famous Glockenspiel in the Marienplatz.

After we enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Hof Brau Haus which is the world's most famous beer hall.

We then traveled to Garmisch to spend the night at Edelweiss Lodge & Resort which is retreat for U.S. military. After dip in the hot tub a good nights sleep and a quick round in the sauna and another dip in the hot tub we set off to journey to the top of Germany. We took a train and a cable car to the top of the Zugspitze which at approximately 10,000 feet is the highest peak in Germany. It was 32° and depending on which side of the mountain you were on there was a nasty wind chill.

We took a cable car all the way back down the mountain and hoped in the car for the short trip to Füssen, Germany to see Neushwanstein Castle. After a brief crossover into Austria, we arrived at our destination not a moment to soon as we almost missed the last tour offered in English for the day. We rode the horse and carriage up the very steep hill and then made the short walk the rest of the way up to the Castle for the tour. Since we were the next to last tour of the day, by the time we exited the castle, the last horse and carriage down the hill was already gone. So Kay ran down the hill and broke several traffic laws by driving the car back up the hill to pickup Grandma.

At this point we were all exhausted from our whirlwind tour of Bavaria and headed home where we would need to hurry and repack so we could head to the airport in the morning for our trip to Italy. It was amazing that one day were on top of the Zugspitze in the snow and ice and the next day we were in Italy basking in the warmth of the Tuscan sun.

(Kent, Kay, Kerry, Kim & Kim in Italy)

Our Trip to Italy

We recently had the opportunity to take a family trip to Italy and when I say family trip, I mean family trip. Kent and I were joined by Kassi, Brandon, Devyn, Johnny, Parker & Kaylin, as well as Kent's mom Patricia, Kent's three sisters Kerry, Kay and Kim, as well as our dear friend Kate. The 13 of flew out of Germany on the 18th of September headed for Pisa, Italy. While we were there we had a blast visiting Florence, Pisa, Livorno and my favorite the Cinque Terre region. The Cinque Terre is a rocky part of the Italian Coast just north of Tuscanny. It is comprised of 5 remote villages along the Meditteranean Sea. It is the Italy every one dreams of. With it's rockycliffs, winding roads and colorful homes it was simply breathtaking.

Kaylins favorite part of the trip was going to the art museum in Florence and seeing the statue of David. Parker and Kaylin had fun chasing pigeons in one of the small Piazza's in Florence.

On our way to the airport we stopped off and saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

We enjoyed the five days we spent playing in Italy. Kent and I are looking forward to going back. Maybe next time we'll leave the kids home. ;)

Starting Out

Starting out. The beginning. The first post. No matter what the title is, it it is hard to start. I have started to post this blog so many times, but life always seems to get in the way. Now that life is under control (for this millisecond) I figure now was a good time to get this up and running. I am hoping to use this blog as a way to keep our family and friends around the world up to date on the MANY happenings in our family. It seems something is always going on in our family and the infrequent phone conversations and emails just don't afford enough time to keep everyone up to date on our crazy lives. So here it is. Our family blog. My intent is to try to update it as often as I can so everyone that is interetsed can stay up to date. So happy reading........