12-29, Dad and Mary Jo's visit

We were also able to spend a little time with Dad and Mary Jo this holiday season. It was only for a day and night, but that's what makes living only hours away such a treat. Thanks for taking the time to come and see us!

.... the Wii gathering.....

I just had to attach this video.... maybe a short "Funniest Home Videos" candidate.....is that show even on anymore or just re-runs?! Anyway, Dad got Nikolas a remote control airplane for Christmas. Unfortunately, its hype lasted longer than any of its flights (obviously the wind didn't help!)! Oh well, maybe next time! It's the thought, right?!

12-28, Family Collage

Another short entry, how about that! This is a new photo collage I made of my side of the family. Quite an assortment. It will give me a smile every time I pass it by.....once I hang it up, that is!

12-27, Come again, Mom!

This may be my shortest blog entry yet, but a good photo cannot be passed up! This is Sven and his mom the day we took her back to the airport. It was a nice visit and it was hard to say goodbye.

12-26, Fort McHenry, Baltimore

I don't know why the tune, "We're off to see the wizard...." (you know the rest) pops into my head when I see these photos. Maybe it's those "shiny, happy people...." (there I go again....). Anyway, here we are, in the car, driving up the BW Parkway to Baltimore. Look at those smiles! Pretty amazing considering Nikolas has turned into (not PHYSICALLY but behaviorally) that girl on the commercial where she never smiles, then her parents catch her smiling, then she stops and glares at them....well, that's Nikolas these days in front of a camera. He smiles, but it sure is hard to catch! =) Boy, do I cherish this photo!!

Why summarize when you can cut and paste?! Thanks Wikipedia for this "get to know Fort McHenry" synopsis:

"Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, is a star shaped fort best known for its role in the War of 1812 when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy in the Chesapeake Bay. It was during this bombardment of the fort that Francis Scott Key was inspired to write "The Star-Spangled Banner," the poem that would eventually be turned into the national anthem of the United States, set to the tune of a British song "To Anacreon in Heaven"."

Miss Atlanta seems to have a pained, numb expression on her face..... guess it's a little colder in MD. =)

What did I tell ya? Nikolas refused to pose inside this little cubby, so mom did!

Below is the inside of one of the enlisted men's quarters. In another room, the men even shared the beds. Talk about tight on space. I can't even imagine how cold it was back in the day. We were freezing with all of our modern clothing. Brrrr!!

This is the view across the inside of the fort towards the CO's quarters. A tad bit different. He had a whole HOUSE!

You know, history has never been my strong point (on the otherhand, Sven loves it and is so knowledgable). As much as we don't care for a lot of this east coast living and lifestyle, the incredible amount of history that exists here is mind-boggling. Maybe I'll have all those assorted wars and people figured out (at least somewhat!) by the end of this tour. Nikolas will have a way better start to learning all this stuff than I ever did. Pretty amazing.

12-26, The Flag House, Baltimore

On this day, we also toured the house of Mary Pickersgill. In 1813, Mary was contracted to sew a flag which was to fly over Baltimore's Fort McHenry. The hand-sewn flag was 30' x 42'! This flag was flying over Fort McHenry when it was attacked by the British a year later. It was during this attack that Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the poem which was later set to music and become our national anthem.

This replica of the flag that Mary made is the same size. That's a lot of work!

12-26, Poe's Gravesite, Baltimore

We had one more day to spend with Sven's mom before she had to fly back to Atlanta. We drove to Baltimore for a day of frigid sight-seeing. One of our stops was to to see the gravesite of Edgar Allan Poe. He's buried in Westminster Graveyard in downtown Baltimore. It is a VERY CREEPY place!! The afternoon was dark and cold and everything was gray.....do-do, DO-DO... (or however you spell that!!).

We had no idea that is how the Baltimore Raven's got there name! Eeek.....

What did I tell you.... Dark and gray!!!

Here is where Poe is buried....with his wife/cousin, Maria.

Christmas 2008

This was our first Christmas in .....Maryland (I never get used to saying that....). The holidays were quiet and peaceful. Sven's mom flew in from Atlanta. She went crazy baking cookies and traditional German food. Everything was delicious and I'll have to walk my way through January to get back to my original size. =) So let the photos begin......

"And the stockings were hung on the .....bookcase.... with care in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there...." Between the spelling and indecisiveness, that's one heck of a Santa letter. =)

Nikolas was one very excited little boy Christmas morning.....

Santa downsized this year..... it's not just about the gifts, right?

Go Griz!! Thanks for the shirt, Darryl and Jackie!

Nikolas' big gift this year (from us) was a Wii. Oh does that keep him busy!

So as you'll see below, I got a new, little camera. Sorry I didn't know I couldn't change the orientation of videos! This is too funny not to post-- sorry y0u have to watch it sideways. =)

Sven's mom loved our gift to her (aside from the plane ticket to come spend Christmas with us), Kelly's book "Soup in the City". I was very excited to receive a new Olypmus "point and shoot".

Heartwarming moments of special times spent with familiies. Sweet Nikolas bought Grandma a locket he chose all by himself.

We didn't leave Sven out! He'll soon be hitting the slopes on his new skiis. And, it looks like his days will no longer be so tiring with that ginormous mug Nikolas got for him (coffee, anyone?). =)

Even Rascal took it easy for the holidays!

Last Christmas we were able to have Thad visit us-- we really missed that this year. And when it comes to mom and dad, it's been WAY TOO MANY years since we've spent the holidays together. This year we were able to be together....at least over the phone lines. I was talking to mom and dad on one phone when Thad called in on another. Through some tactical phone placement, we were all able to have a conversation together. We laughed at ourselves realizing how much easier a 3-way call would be but that none of us knew how to do that. =)

What do you think they are thinking? "How are we going to eat all of this?" "Boy, this looks good!" or "Man, I miss Germany!!" We had an authentic German Christmas Day meal: brautwurst and blaukraut. It was untraditional for me, traditional for them, and VERY NUMMY!

Well, I guess that wraps up... or unwraps!.... our first Christmas in....Maryland. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday, too!