Grandpa and Grandma in Manhattan

Our next stop was Manhattan, KS, the home of my mom's parents. They moved there from Iowa in 1966.

My grandpa always gives me a bear hug the first time he sees me. It's his trademark, and it isn't just any normal bear hug, mind you. It's like being in a vice grip. He's a retired veterinarian, and as such, he can tell some wild stories about cats, pythons, etc. Here's Grandpa holding onto the beard of a billy goat while David watches.

Grandma showered us with hospitality. I was amazed by how efficiently she put full course meals together. I wonder....,"will I ever be that fast?"

It was good to see my grandparents again.

Kansas City, KS

Our next stop was Kansas City, KS, the home of three of my mom's six brothers and sisters. We stayed with my Uncle Dave and Aunt Susan. Many of the family came to visit, and it was great to catch up with them.

Two of my cousins (Sarah and Rebekah), my nephew Michael and I.

My Uncle Tim thouroughly enjoyed being attacked by his four great nephews.

St.Louis

St. Louis is a very happening city with activities all over the place. We went to the top of the famous arch, took a cruise along the historic Mississippi River, and toured the science museum.


I happened upon a band concert at a park nearby where we stayed. The music was fanfarish and patriotic and created an uplifting atmosphere in the night air. Apparently there are two free classical and jazz concerts every single week! Oh, the thought of it!

On the Road

My sister Sarah, her husband, their six kids and I loaded up in their 11-seat-passenger van for a road trip to Kansas. I was amazed at how well the kids did considering the many miles we drove. They were quite enjoyable. :) Listening to "The Little Princess" and "Little Women" helped pass the time. Highlights included a day in St. Louis and time spent with Kansas family.

David's Double Digits

My nephew David turned double digits last week. It's hard to believe he's already 10! I remember my 10th birthday. My dad smiled at me and said, "This is an important birthday, because you'll never be one digit again. You're double digits now!" When he said that, the number 10 took on a different meaning for me. I was no longer just one year older---I was "double digits".

I shared with David what my dad had shared with me on my 10th birthday. It was so much fun to pass that down! Here he is with some of his friends (he's the one in the middle).

As part of David's celebration, he had 8 other boys over for outside games. I enjoyed watching from the safety of the garage as the boys chased each other with high-powered water guns. The fight was merciless, and I was glad that my title of "Aunt" gave me immunity from being soaked. It was kind of funny. I could see that a few of the boys wanted to pelt me, but they held back.

The definite highlight for me was "the balloon drop." The boys took turns standing below a 2nd story window, while my brother-in-law dropped water balloons on them. The goal?: Catching four water balloons in a grocery bag. The game get's harder with each balloon that's caught because the balloons weigh the bag down and make it more difficult to open. So, balloons were landing everywhere, and were even hitting the boys.

Here is little Sophia with her very own water balloon.

The Green Cyclops

What do you think? :-)

Old Friends

Courtney and I go back a long ways, all the way to the 3rd grade.

I guess you could say that we're old friends, yet...young at heart!

Courtney, her husband Steve, and I went out for Italian cuisine and then to their home. It was so great to catch up, look at pictures, and meet the pets that they've aquired.

"Dixie" the great dane, with her toe nails painted pink, sat like a lady as she chomped down on her grunting hedge hog. Brought back memories of my hedge hog "Spike."

My Biggest Bro

My parents and I took a road trip up to Maryland to see my brother Stephen and his family. Our time together was oh too short!

World Cup Crazies

I took the train into Frankfurt in search of a distinctly German restaurant and found "Suppen & Bratwurst" (Soup and Sausage). Pretty guten.

After lunch, I entered what looked to be a quaint little book store. Quite the contrary---the fairly small entrance room opened up into a massive four-story book store! I enjoyed the beautiful display flags hanging from the ceiling in celebration of the World Cup.

There were two Starbucks within five minutes walking distance from each other. Though not a Starbucks frequenter, I was in the mood for a splurge. I chose a chilled-white-chocolate-mousse-mocha that was devine.

How cool it was to be in Germany during the World Cup! The craziness had swept across the population, and they were stirred up. Young men were yelling chants, while men and women alike had painted flags on their cheeks.

Us Ladies in Frankfurt

Us ladies---Lauren, Tasha, Karen D., and I took the same flight to Frankfurt, Germany. We spent several hours chatting, resting, and walking around. While on one of these airport adventures, Lauren and I found a perfume display with a manican man kicking a soccer ball. Ha! I don't quite see the connection, but that's ok because we got some great pictures with "the manican man." When we passed by the display later, there was a huge crowd gathered around as a man kicked a soccer ball towards a tv generated goal. I gave it a try, and to my surprise, won a complimentary bottle of Cool Water perfume!

Lauren and I found a machine that takes your picture, paints the colors of a flag on your face, and then charges you to put the picture on a cigerette accessory. We had our pictures taken, and the flags painted on, but we made the unanimous decision, however, to not continue with the process.

Traveling with these friends was a nice change from my usual solo travels. When you're by yourself, you only have yourself to laugh with.

Class Fun

My last classes were a piece of cake. Here's a heated game of musical chairs.

Looking Forward

I am so looking forward to seeing family in just two more days! :)

I can hardly believe it's just two more days---the thought of being on the other side of the Atlantic just doesn't seem real to me yet.

Here I go!

Missing

Ahhhhhhhhhh! I am going to miss it here! Yes, two months seems like such a long time. I'm especially going to miss people (those living overseas with me). Thankfully, we have our blogs, and most of us will be here by late August.
There are a few who are moving, and things will not be the same without them:

Linda, Abdul Muhib, Lisa D., Victoria, and Sarah,

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face to shine upon you,

and give you peace, and give you peace.

The Lord lift His countenance upon you,

and be gracious unto you, be gracious.

The Lord be gracious, gracious unto you. Amen.

Baby, baby!

I recently heard some good news. There's another family baby on the way, and that means that now I have 10 nephews and nieces to love: David, Stephen, Timothy, Michael, Elizabeth, Grace, Faith, Sophia, John Mark, and ?..... Congratulations, sister and bro-in-law!

Woe is Me

I had my first horrific ironing experience yesterday. A loud and foreboding sizzle sent up steam within less than a second. I jerked the iron back to find a gaping 3-inch-diameter-hole in my favorite skirt! Eeek! It's quite impressive looking---a perfect circle. I decided, however, that a picture would be too depressing.

Morning Waves

Today was my first day back surfing since December. The waves were rather small, as you can see in the above picture. Actually, that's not really me, and the waves were much smaller than this, but I thought it appropriate that a surfing post have a surfing picture. The temperature today was just about perfect, and the water and sky were beautiful hues of blue.

So what do I have for all of this? An hour and a half of bliss, a tan, and two red knees. I had failed to anticipate the wet suit riding up above my knees.

Trumpet Blast

This is the first year that the school has had a band, and I am loving it! These are my three trumpeters: the loudest instrumentalists in the band.

My Roomie and Me!

Here's Melissa and I at the same farewell party. We've been roommates since I first came in August 2004, and we'll be roommates again next year.

Embouchure

At her and Abdul Muhib's farewell party, Linda asked me for a flute embouchure lesson.

I felt so honored. :) Here's our first...it took all of 1 minute.

In this picture, we're pouting our lips in demonstration of going up in pitch. Now see if you can do it. Oh, and please send me a picture.

They've Got Rhythm!

I love rhythm, and it has been fun and rewarding to see my students experiencing and enjoying rhythm too. Here are some group and individual shots of students clapping rhythms off of the white board (Above: 1st graders; Below K-5).