HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TOMMY TOMORROW! He has quite a weekend planned. He and Rilee are going to a cabin with friends and waterskiing and are going to San Francisco on Monday. Tommy will be working and Rilee will be playing. However, his work sounds sort of like play. Apparently he is going to a baseball game with coworkers.
Have a wonderful birthday, Tommy, and we'll see you on Sunday!
Friday, June 14, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
Sunday, June 09, 2013
Darned time difference
Hello! I feel like it's been far too long since I've talked to the Fam - we've been busy pretty much every weekend since the first of May, and it's so hard to find a time when our waking hours cross during the week. This weekend looks like it'll be calmer, so hopefully I'll catch some of you then.
So here's a bit of an update on us. Work is going well, definitely a fun atmosphere and lots of interesting people, though he day to day stuff can be a bit of a slog and we've been in a bit of dead spot for the last month waiting for the writers to give us more texts to translate. E3, the big video game industry conference, starts today, and we're all very excited to show some of our stuff off to journalists there.
Agata's work is going well in the sense that they've got an impressive amount of book proposals in the pipeline, though I think she's a bit frustrated with what happens to them after that. She'll be going to Berlin twice in June for meetings at their parent company's offices.
Summer has arrived and we are loving it. We went to the Czech Republic the first week of May and had a blast, and then Jurek and Barbara came to visit us on two separate weekends and we played around Warsaw. A week ago we went to visit Agata's friends and co-workers in Sopot, on the Baltic. It was lovely weather and I even got to swim - it wasn't that cold at all, nothing compared to the Pacific near Seattle, but then again, I've had ice cream warmer than the Pacific near Seattle.
I bought a bike and have been loving it. I ride to work every day, and try to take off after work for an excursion before coming home. I was longing for a longer ride this weekend, but we had to go to Lodz, so I came up with a plan: I took my bike on the train and got off in Koluszki, about 20 miles from Lodz, and rode from there into town. It was great times, going through backroads in the Polish countryside.
So here's some pictures from all of the above:
So here's a bit of an update on us. Work is going well, definitely a fun atmosphere and lots of interesting people, though he day to day stuff can be a bit of a slog and we've been in a bit of dead spot for the last month waiting for the writers to give us more texts to translate. E3, the big video game industry conference, starts today, and we're all very excited to show some of our stuff off to journalists there.
Agata's work is going well in the sense that they've got an impressive amount of book proposals in the pipeline, though I think she's a bit frustrated with what happens to them after that. She'll be going to Berlin twice in June for meetings at their parent company's offices.
Summer has arrived and we are loving it. We went to the Czech Republic the first week of May and had a blast, and then Jurek and Barbara came to visit us on two separate weekends and we played around Warsaw. A week ago we went to visit Agata's friends and co-workers in Sopot, on the Baltic. It was lovely weather and I even got to swim - it wasn't that cold at all, nothing compared to the Pacific near Seattle, but then again, I've had ice cream warmer than the Pacific near Seattle.
I bought a bike and have been loving it. I ride to work every day, and try to take off after work for an excursion before coming home. I was longing for a longer ride this weekend, but we had to go to Lodz, so I came up with a plan: I took my bike on the train and got off in Koluszki, about 20 miles from Lodz, and rode from there into town. It was great times, going through backroads in the Polish countryside.
So here's some pictures from all of the above:
getting burgers when Agata's dad came
getting burgers when Agata's mom came... hmm... we're kind of monothematic...
Agata in Sopot
On the pier in Sopot
Eating some fried flounder
Beware of Seal
A roadside altar near Koluszki
Some random church procession in Lodz
Saturday, June 01, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Congratulations to Alex who just finished defending his thesis at BYU. His committee loved it and recommended that he submit it immediately for publication. He will make a few corrections and then submit it the the main sociology journal. The committee was especially impressed with his data and analysis. He officially has completed his Masters Degree at BYU. Good job Alex!
Monday, May 27, 2013
Happy Birthday Oliver!
Happy Birthday to Ollie who turns six today! We wish we were there to celebrate with you. From Danny's facebook post, it looks like Ollie had breakfast in bed! We hope you have had a wonderful day.
Danny and Jenni had their wedding anniversary on May 23rd and Dawn and Tyler also on May 23rd. Both couples were too busy to celebrate on that day, but found time a day or two later. We have such good memories of your weddings. Congratulations on living through it and enjoying each other and your beautiful children.
Danny and Jenni had their wedding anniversary on May 23rd and Dawn and Tyler also on May 23rd. Both couples were too busy to celebrate on that day, but found time a day or two later. We have such good memories of your weddings. Congratulations on living through it and enjoying each other and your beautiful children.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Memorial Day
So what are you all doing for the holiday weekend? We are preparing talks for church, fixing sprinklers, visiting with family and friends and missing those of you who are far away. Dad is sleeping right now (it's 1:30 Saturday p.m.). He put in a new sprinkler station and timer yesterday. Now our sprinklers blast all over the patio and deck and house. But it's wonderful to not drag a hose and to leave town and know the lawn is watered.
Laurel graduated from preschool on Thursday. She has had a wonderful teacher and friends. She's been enrolled in a cooperative preschool by the U of U, which means the parents have been very involved. We enjoyed the picnic after and meeting the other grandparents and parents. Tyler couldn't come. His restaurant was part of the big H & M grand opening. Dawn is working there, too now, several shifts a week. They are very busy with their girls, work, house and yard.
Alex and Brynna are thinking about buying a Subaru to take to New York. They will need four-wheel drive. They might have decided on one today. They returned last night from a week in Ft. Collins. They are planning on moving to Ithaca starting on July 30. It will be a long trip across the country. I'm going to fly to New York and drive back with Dad. I might even see Niagara Falls. Alex defends his thesis this week.
Tommy and Rilee bought road bikes. They plan on biking to work and the library. I think they love them. Rilee is working at BYU this summer and Tommy is on some new projects at his work. He just returned from a shoot in San Diego and Los Angeles.
I hope we can talk to Travis and Agata this weekend. They went to Czeck Republic with some friends. We really miss them.
I'm going to call Danny and Jenni to see what they are doing.
We are enjoying many things about our mission call. We have met some interesting people and heard some unique stories. We met one man last week who is very sick and has had lots of bad luck and illnesses. He was very unhappy. Then we met another man who was injured in Vietnam and is very sick still, who was so positive about everything. Made you think. They both had remarkable stories.
We'll be calling you! We love you
Laurel graduated from preschool on Thursday. She has had a wonderful teacher and friends. She's been enrolled in a cooperative preschool by the U of U, which means the parents have been very involved. We enjoyed the picnic after and meeting the other grandparents and parents. Tyler couldn't come. His restaurant was part of the big H & M grand opening. Dawn is working there, too now, several shifts a week. They are very busy with their girls, work, house and yard.
Alex and Brynna are thinking about buying a Subaru to take to New York. They will need four-wheel drive. They might have decided on one today. They returned last night from a week in Ft. Collins. They are planning on moving to Ithaca starting on July 30. It will be a long trip across the country. I'm going to fly to New York and drive back with Dad. I might even see Niagara Falls. Alex defends his thesis this week.
Tommy and Rilee bought road bikes. They plan on biking to work and the library. I think they love them. Rilee is working at BYU this summer and Tommy is on some new projects at his work. He just returned from a shoot in San Diego and Los Angeles.
I hope we can talk to Travis and Agata this weekend. They went to Czeck Republic with some friends. We really miss them.
I'm going to call Danny and Jenni to see what they are doing.
We are enjoying many things about our mission call. We have met some interesting people and heard some unique stories. We met one man last week who is very sick and has had lots of bad luck and illnesses. He was very unhappy. Then we met another man who was injured in Vietnam and is very sick still, who was so positive about everything. Made you think. They both had remarkable stories.
We'll be calling you! We love you
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Danny and Jenni Europe Trip Part 1
Ok, I figured it was about time to share some photos from our Europe trip. I'm not sure that I have them all downloaded yet, so I may have to do this in several installments. First of all, we just want to send a huge thank you out to Agata's family for welcoming us in and really treating us like part of the family. We felt so loved and had such a wonderful time in Poland. And Paris of course was wonderful. Ok, here are a few photos.
And back to eating. Yes, this is a large piece of bread with lard and bacon and a pickle. Yum.
Here we are being welcomed to Warsaw.
And here are some photos of old town Warsaw.
We wandered around ate had a good time while Travis was toiling away at work. Felt good to be on the other end of that equation for once. The only problem we ran into in Warsaw were the blue cheese pierogi. They gave us indigestion.
Ok, now onto Lodz. Barbara welcomed us in with tons of good food. Here is a picture of the most amazing cheesecake i have ever tasted. It was light and fluffy and not too sweet.
Here we are at Agata's dad's house. It was a beautiful apartment.
I believe this next photo is a "light snack" we had about an hour before going out to a large feast at a restaurant with the whole family. I like Polish snacks.
And here are a few shots from the feast with the family. We especially enjoyed meeting grandpa.
Peter took us around the city and showed us the factories. It was one of the most interesting parts of e trip for us.
And now onto Krakow.
Our apartment was right next to the zapiekanki central station of the universe. I was in heaven.
Travis and I turned Jewish for a bit.
Here was some raw beef we ate. Yum.
Cool basement restaurant in the old town.
This next one was perhaps the highlight for us. The weather was beautiful and we stopped one night at an out-door place for drinks. We sat under this tree and talked and laughed for hours. It was wonderful.
Cheese.
We loved this main square in old town. Could have stayed here forever.
And more food. Yep, we ate a lot.
And now a few pictures from Paris. I'll only do a few right now because I'm getting tired. More to come later. Here's the Norte dame cathedral. It's blew my mind.
Playing the piano at the Shakespeare bookstore.
Relaxing at Luxembourg gardens.
Eiffel!
We went to the top!
More food. Kabobs!
We rode these bikes all over the city. It was a great way to get around.
Yes, we put a lock on there too. How could we not?
Gelato!
Breakfast the day we left.
Ok so obviously we ate a lot of food. I'll try to post more photos later of non food things. I think I must be hungry right now or something. Thanks to mom and dad for watching our kids and making this trip possible for us. It was an amazing experience.
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