Then and Now

For the past four years, Lissie and Christian have been in the same ballroom dance classes learning the likes of waltz, cha-cha, tango and swing . . . so I wasn't too surprised when I came across this picture from 1997 in my files (Lissie almost 3 and Christian age 4). . .


Here they are 13 years later with a little better form . . .



And speaking of evidence of things to come, take a look at this page out of Bryant's baby book entitled "A Style of His Own" (notice the natural baby mohawk) . . .



And 13 years later with a very similar look . . .

Birthday Bliss in Garmisch

What could be better than a week in Garmisch spent swimming, watching movies, alpine-sliding, hiking, paddle-boating and tree climbing with the Clark Family? How about topping it all off with a birthday celebration? Bryant turned 14 during our vacation, and since Christian's 17th birthday is just around the corner, we celebrated their birthdays together . . .

We started out with a big buffet breakfast at the Edelweiss Lodge . . .



Then we were ready for the real excitement of the day: KLETTERWALD! This is a climbing park (ropes, ladders, wooden platforms and other similar obstacles) set up in the trees. After being equipped with climbing harnesses, helmets, and a safety course from trainer Heike, everyone was ready. Bryant liked to lead out and even did the most difficult courses twice! Imagine swinging – Robinhood style - from platform to platform, or skateboarding and bicycling up in the tree tops. Balance and strength were certainly the order of the day.

Here they are . . . all dressed up in their birthday party gear:

ERIN


CHRISTIAN


TAYLOR


LISSIE



EZRA



BRYANT


RACHEL


JESSICA


Christian leading Lissie through the black course (aka Monkey Heaven). . .



In the leafy treetops . . .


Robin and his merry climbers . . .



And the birthday boys at the end of the day . . .



Happy Birthday Guys!

Walks to Remember . . . Lucca, Pisa, Cinque Terre & Verona

The Tuscan town of Lucca is the perfect place to take an afternoon stroll--whether atop its medieval wall which still surrounds the city or just around town.



And I had to take a picture of this sweet little man filling up his green glass water jug at a public fountain. I only wish I had known how to say in Italian “will you look at me and smile?” as he mounted his bike and rode off with his treasure in tow.



The next day we ventured out to Pisa and its Leaning Tower . . . good thing we had Bryant along so he could hold it up while I took a picture!





And later that day, we spent some time in the warmth of sand and sea at the American Beach in Tirrenia. Between paddle boating, canoeing, beach volleyball (which soon became beach soccer), shell collecting, sun bathing and relaxing, only a little more TIME could have made the afternoon more idyllic.

Here are Christian and Taylor setting off in the canoe . . .



Jacob and Bryant triumphantly displaying their battle trophy . . .



And the Allred, Clark and Hibbard kids at the end of the day:



We knew that the next day we would be down near the water again as we hiked along the famed Cinque Terre (five beautiful coastal towns just northwest of La Spezia). The highlight was being witness to our very own cliff divers -- Bryant, Christian, Taylor, Brent, Jessica, Heidi, Hailey and Dallin . . . love that clear Mediterranean water!

The cliff . . .



Here are Lissie & Erin in their sun hats (if you look closely, you can see the Cinque Terre in the background)



Our last stop in Italy was Verona. We spent an afternoon there as we journeyed from Italy back to Germany. We were impressed with the centuries old coliseum (still in use for operas, concerts and plays), marble sidewalks, and the fabled Capulet home (we couldn’t miss seeing Giuliette’s balcony). In the end, we decided that a couple of hours was just not enough . . . so fair Verona is on our “must see again” list. Ryan Air must fly close to there, right?





Here is what Bryant, Christian and Lissie think about that . . .

Lugano Revisited

Several years ago (April 2003) we took a family trip to Lugano, Switzerland. Our original motivation for this excursion was Lauren's desire to attend The American School in Switzerland (TASIS)-- the setting for a book by Sharon Creech entitled Bloomability. We toured the school (a much less expensive alternative to actually attending), paddle-boated on Lake Lugano, played chess in the city square, hiked Mt. Bre, and toured the chocolate factory. We were enchanted by the city's beauty coupled with the Italian language . . . the best of two cultures really and a European paradise.

Who knew that we would become acquainted last year with a wonderful LDS family (The Hibbards from Iowa) presently living in Lugano? Two of their children even attend TASIS. Unbelievable! They graciously invited us (and the Clarks) to come for a short visit while we were enroute to Italy. As we revisited the sites in beautiful Lugano, our love for its charm was also rekindled.

Here are Erin, Rachel and Lissie outside the gate at TASIS:



. . . and the same beautiful girls down by the dock:



. . . the kids down at the park:



. . . and my dream house!



GRAZIE, Hibbard Family!

Please Come Again . . .

For the past few years we have had a tradition of camping with our good friends, The Clarks, in the Black Forest on Memorial Weekend. And since they arrived back to Germany just in time to continue the tradition, we went camping the day after they got here. Sorry guys . . . no time for jet lag!

Here are Ezra and Taylor enjoying dinner . . .


such nice boys.

Many of the youth from our ward also joined us on our excursion. There is so much for them to do: Soccer, basketball, swimming, running, getting lost (ask me later), roasting marshmallows, making new friends, etc.

Here they are enjoying some time out on the raft . . . little did they know that Bryant and Christian had more than floating on their minds. Just what were they thinking? Let's get wet? Let's get everyone wet? Let's rock the boat? Let's SINK the boat???



We had such a lively group that even the Germans were out taking pictures. After all, there's nothing quite like a few rambunctious American youth to make things interesting. The owners of the camp actually wrote me last week asking us to . . . PLEASE COME AGAIN!