Close Call

Well, we almost had to say good-bye to a member of our family...our dog! It was very sad (wouldn't eat or drink for four days), but the vet diagnosed his problem and gave him meds and now he is all better. Here is a picture of him resting comfortably.

FAMILY pictures

Well, we had requests for MORE pictures of US and less of where we've been/what we've been doing....SO, for all those throngs of fans: here you go! :)

These were all taken about two years ago at a park in Ohio.

We tried to pick a sunny day, but a short rain storm came through...it was VERY exciting while the thunder and lightening was crashing around us!
When it cleared up, we took the rest of these pictures.

One to save for Halloween!

And no family photo shoot would be complete without the family tree! What a bunch of nuts!

Girls Night Out (Paris)

Well, we had the Hoskins (mom & daughter) come visit from our last ward in Ohio

Here they are at the Cinquen-

tinaire monument.

Indoor skiing was fun.

Future mom's having to deal with peeing babies! It's the Manneken Pis (Dutch for little man urinating).



At the Eiffel tower (girls night out in Paris!).

Sacré Coeur cathedral

Notice the Mona Lisa between them (at the Louvre).

Eating escargot at a side-walk café (NOT!).

Notre Dame cathedral.

This a shot of them at the "Grand Place" in Brussels.

They got to see ALL the major sites in Paris, and did it in two days & one nite (20 hours of site-seeing); as well as the sites here in town. They will also admit to SOME shopping, but I won't know how much until the credit card bill comes in!!!

Picture to the left is Emily on her first day arriving at our new house (the one we just moved into on 6 June).

More to come when Valerie returns from Ohio in a month, and we're headed to Mallorca island off the Mediteranian coast of Spain in late August.

2009 Trip to Rome

Picture of us at the Colloseum.

Us at the Temple of Hercules (look at those bulging muscles!).

The three girls wanted to go up these stairs next to the Victoriano...smart me, I grabbed the camera & offered to be the photographer (Alicia was too slow to catch on until she was half way up!).

Behind those smiles are three tired girls!

This is us on top of the Victoriano. The view below is from that spot.

Notice the three of them lined up for a photo-opportunity!

Just to get the statue in perspective, see the three of them underneath it?

Valerie, did I step in something???

First dinner out in Rome...it was COLD!

Happy tourists outside the colloseum.

This was breakfast in Sorrento...BEAUTIFUL dining room and lobby.

This was our table for breakfast....and yes that's a luxury cruiser sitting outside the window.

Happy tummies full of croissants & hot chocolate!

Vatican City...I think you can see the Pope inside one of the windows!!

This is the Trevi Fountain the first night we arrived...VERY crowded.

The exact same photo, but 12 hours later when the tourists are still asleep ('cept us).

Three girls in front of the Pantheon. Very pretty inside...sort of.

Large view of Pantheon.

The girls in front of Trevi Fountain.

View to the North from our hotel balcony.

....yep, you guessed it: view to the south outside our balcony.

In April, we took the girls to Rome for Spring break. We saw Trevi Fountain, the Colleseum, Vatican city, and much more (see pics). First pics are of us in the Colleseum. the view from our window (left & right). Nice neighborhood next to the US embassy.