Whirlwind Trip to USA

March 31st found Ivan and I on our way to Washington D.C.  We only knew about this trip two days earlier.  It was unexpected and happened very fast.  Why did we go?  Ivan was requested by the doc at the US Consulate to have some medical tests done.  By the way (and happy to say) that all went well.

Outside of frantic running to and fro to doctor's appointments (the first week was the most hectic), we found time to enjoy ourselves.  Here are some things we did while in America:

A weekend visit to South Carolina to see family.
Dean (grandma), Evelyn (great grandma holding Cocoa) and Ivan

Daniel, Stephanie and Andrew (Stephanie's newest edition)
Daniel and Stephanie are brother and sister.

Roy (Dean's brother) and Starr (his wife)

Lauren (Stephanie's oldest daughter) and Daniel (Lauren's uncle)

2nd Cousin Ninjas

Ivan snuggling with Grandma on the porch
outside Great Grandma's house

Daniel and Roy (father and son) on their way to
General Conference priesthood session

Bob (Dean's brother), Ivan and Great Grandma (Evelyn)

Dean with her brother Bob.

Dean drove back with us to spend a week in D.C. and here we are, about to embark on a tour of D.C. aboard the DCDucks.

The happy trio.

Trees blooming for the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Nation's capital

Noticing the beautiful buildings along the trail

Passing another DCDucks on our way.

Cherry blossoms around the tital basin.
The city is full of tourists today for the festival.

Tourists on sea and land to view the amazing site of cherry blossoms all around the lake ... allergy medicine anyone?

Distant view of the Washington Memorial.

Now entering the water...hence the name "DCDucks."

Views from the amphibious vehicle...

If you're happy and you know it...give a quack!

After the tour, lunch at a nice restaurant.
The wait: 1 hour.

The restaurant we ate lunch at.

During the last few days in America we met
with our dear friends we knew from Jerusalem.

Well, we are finally back home in Germany after about 2-1/2 weeks.  I am grateful for all we were able to do and for all our family and friends we were able to see.  So grateful to Heavenly Father for blessing us so richly.

Before and After

What do friends do for fun in Frankfurt?  If your friend happens to have two children close to your own children's ages, you drive to a nearby city (Wiesbaden) and go to the military base there (especially if your friend is also from the consulate community).

At the military base they have a movie theater (all English, of course, woo hoo) and a food court.  So, we dropped off our kids at the movie theater to watch ... what?  Sherman and Peabody ;o)

Meanwhile, my friend and I went to the PX (equivalent of a department store/Walmart/K-mart) and get a makeover.  It was fun, I admit.  I don't have any pictures of my friend's makeover, though. 

After all that fun and the movie is over we ate dinner at the food court.  We had Popeye's chicken!!!!  (Sometimes you need to dream you are at home.)

View at your own risk........

Before

After

Ivan's Bake Sale for Charity

This past weekend was a whirlwind of baking, baking, baking, baking.....my head is spinning......this is the story:

Ivan's school offers opportunities each year for their students to be involved in a variety of charitable experiences.  Ivan caught the vision after a school assembly.  He decided to bake goodies to sell in order to raise money for one of these charitable opportunities.  The organization is called Actionaid and it helps build wells in places that need water (among other things).   

To make a long story short, it was crazy.  He came home with 54 orders.  Between me, Ivan and Emily we made cinnamon rolls, chocolate cupcakes, vanilla cupcakes, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, M&M cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, chocolate mint cookies, chocolate cookies, snickerdoodles, chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes, banana bread, banana muffins (with and without chocolate chips)....yes, I've lost it.

We aren't sure of the amount raised this weekend, but it was around 70 euros.  I went this morning (Monday) to his school to help distribute the pre-orders at the morning recess.  We had to fight off sugar deprived children left and right :o)  

Here are a few pictures from one night of baking (out of three):

I think it would be safe to say that we don't want to repeat this crazy baking weekend, but it is also safe to say that it is a blast cooking in the kitchen together!!!  Viva La Cucina!!

Journey's End...

I've just finished writing a handful of blog entries about our trip to Amsterdam and all the wonderful things we were able to see and learn about.   It is a fun place to visit!  The people are so interesting and nice.  They speak great English, too, along with their native Dutch.

Here are a few last photos from our trip that fall under no particular category.  After these you can sigh a breath of relief that I will not torture you further by prattling on about it all.

I'm loving the bikes in this bike shop!

Wouldn't you love to test drive this?

I like the children seats in the front.

Ouch!  Nice price to go with the bike, eh?

The baskets give these bikes a homey touch.

Royal seating...nothing but the best.

Wandering around Amsterdam looking
for an Indonesian restaurant.

The bike of my dreams!

We discovered that there is covered bike parking at the central train station. There are thousands of bikes parking
there everyday.  Would you like this life style?

Yes, we found our Indonesian restaurant.
Apparently they have some good ones.

I wouldn't say it's really my thing.
Ivan and I are eating the same dish...it's basically chicken soup.
We aren't feeling very adventurous.

Until next time...keep a smile in your heart!!!

Traditional Holland

As we were leaving Amsterdam, we stopped by a little town called Zaans Schans.  It is a bit of a tourist trap, but we enjoyed exploring and seeing what life was and is like for the Dutch working and living there.

Inside a windmill.

Climbing inside a windmill.

Outside and up high on a windmill.

The cute town of Zaans Schans.

Emily took this photo from inside the general store...I thought it was a great picture.

There is even a chocolate factory in Zaans Schans.

We are being served hot chocolate with homemade cocoa powder.

Outside the Dutch wooden shoe museum, store and shop.

Statue of traditional Dutch dress inside the shoe carver's workshop.

Trying on a pair for size.

Where the shoes are made.