New Year

Wow! Has it really been 3 weeks since I last posted? It was a busy last few weeks. With the holiday preparations, finishing up school before break, and getting ready for family we've been swamped.
I'll try to give you a quick recap.

Mom and I went on a river cruise down the Danube in Europe at the beginning of December.  (see the previous post) We had a wonderful time. The weather was cold but not freezing and even though we had a few days of rain over all it was wonderful.  The food on the ship was amazing.  Not to mention the yummy food in all the different cities we stopped in.  We enjoyed Gluhwein in every port and whatever food we could find from local vendors. We enjoyed going into many churches and enjoying the beautiful architecture and history of each of them.  We shared a lot of good laughs and made a lot of good memories.

Since Oma was still in town for a few days after I got back we got together with the MD McLarens and enjoyed an early family Christmas gathering.  Most were able to make it and we enjoyed the day eating and chatting and spending time with family. On the way home, we stopped by to see some other family. I was really close and spent a lot of time with the neighbors across the street from the house I grew up in.  They had two little boys and I was over there virtually every day. I changed them, fed them, bathed them, played with them, and babysat them.  They became my little brothers.  I don't see them or hear from there very often but I think of them often.  Now, they live near the MD Macs so we stopped in to say hello.  They are no longer my "little brothers" as they are both taller than me and are both adults now  (when did that happen??) and it was good to see them and their mom.

My sister and her family came to town to spend the holidays with us and their grandparents who live locally as well. We had a such a good time. It was great to see my sister and my nephews. We laughed a lot and just enjoyed being with each other.  I am already looking forward to see them a lot this summer. We also enjoyed spending time with my sister's in laws.  They were incredibly gracious and welcoming to us and invited us to eat and spend Christmas Eve dinner at their house followed by a beautiful worship service at their church after dinner.

Christmas morning started bright at early here (thank you, Connor) and we spent the day hanging out at our place.  My sister, Uncle P and my nephews came over for lunch and we enjoyed an afternoon of playing X Box and watching each other get knocked into the water while playing the video game Wipeout.  Lots of laughing ... mostly at each other.  It was a fun afternoon.  During their visit we went to a museum in DC, had lunch,  and then walked around DC. The weather was great and very mild for December. Unfortunately, it was so mild we weren't able to go tubing because there was no snow. But we made due and had a great time doing other fun things anyway.

Our friends the Whiteys, who we've been stationed with the past 6 years (OH & CA), were in town for the AF Bowl game and stopped by to see us. It was good to see them and we miss then. We are hoping they'll be moving here this summer so we can see them more often.

New Year's Eve we invited a friend I grew up with at church and his family over to ring in the New Year with us. Again, the evening was spent playing X Box and playing Wipeout. However the whole gang (adults, too) busted a move or two playing Dance 3.  The kids had the brilliant idea of secretly video taping the adults dancing. The replay of the adults dancing was greeted with rip roaring gut splitting laughter from the kids (and the adults) at our dance moves.  That video, I will NOT be sharing. :) We had a good time with the Merlos and we all made it till midnight. 


The new year means vacation time is over, school is back in session, and life is settling back into the normal routine.   We wish you all a blessed 2012!