Assen, Netherlands

On Friday I finally arrived in Amsterdam to see my adorable neice and handsome nephew Lauren & Justin...and of course my wonderful sister. They met me at the airport afterwhich we drove to their home in Assen. First Lauren wanted to show me her school and then we drove out to one of the parks they like to bike ride in when the weather is warmer. The countryside is very pretty and green.



Saturday after having breakfast, we got ready & drove to Groningen which is about 20 minutes away from their home. First stop was a lunch fit for royalty...Burger King! (Where else do you go when you have young ones with you) I didn't even know they had Burger King's here. We then strolled through the market where you can buy anything from fresh produce, flowers, breads, cheeses & meats to textile items such as clothing, purses, shoes, etc. Just across the street from there was Martini Tower. Lauren, Dawn & I climbed all 370 steps to the top just behind the clock faces. We happen to get there just a few minutes to 3 pm and at promptly 3 the bells rang and scared the bejeezes out of us! You could see for miles from there and boy was it windy. Lauren counted the bells and we believe there are 13 with there being several different sizes.



On our way home we stopped by the market (grocery store) and picked up a few items for our trip tomorrow. The stores here are different than in the US. You pick up a scanner and scan items as you pick them up to place in your basket. When your done, you replace your scanner and pay. No having to wait in long checkout lines. Pretty neat. I had absolutely NO clue what I was looking at on the shelves half the time.



Tonight Dawn & Jason got to go out to dinner and a movie just the two of them (a rare event since they've been living here). The kids and I had pizza followed with popcorn and a movie...Sound Of Music (Lauren's favorite!) Til tomorrow...

PS - I can't get the slide show to post on here, but will keep trying. You may look at some in the meantime on my facebook site. (under April Ellisor Schmidt)

Ski Trip

This past Christmas we went on a family ski trip...all but Ronnie (had to work). He's not much into very cold weather, riding up lifts or being away from the flat prairies! One day, Honey, one day! The kids and I went with my Dawn & her family, Mike & Laurel, Kyle, Dad & Aunt Judy. What a wonderful blessing that we were all able to go. This was a first in a very long while.



The first day I wasn't such a good mom. I didn't read the trail map and legend much more than a glance or I would have noticed the beginners area. After checking in Andrew at ski school, I instead took the kids (1st time skiers) down a run that was well over their heads (by accident). We finally met Dad, Laurel and the rest of the gang at the room 4 HOURS later. The kids hated skiing, never wanted to try again and we were all EXHAUSTED.

Dawn had pointed out the beginner area that night, so the next day we spent there. The kids only fell 1 time each and dad was able to ski with them, coaching them along the way. They loved it and couldn't wait to go up the lift again and again. Thank you Dawn!! The third day we skied the same area with Andrew this time. He did great as well. Thought that falling was great fun and tried to wipe out even bigger each time. What a charater! Trey was skiing through the trails in the trees with me and looking for jumps...sound familiar Dawn? Aliska kept trying to work on getting her skis more parallel and out of the wedge. They did wonderfully. Dad had such a wonderful time watching them. Seeing the joy on his face of watching his grandbabies enjoying something he started with his own kids was priceless. Now the kids are asking if we can go every year! I sure hope to continue this tradition as best as we can; we'll eventually get Ronnie there.

Christmas

Tis the Season of Our Lord & Savior...Jesus Christ! We have been trying to keep the hustle & bustle of the typical holiday season to a minimum and keep our focus on the real meaning of Christmas.

At mom's, we had the best Christmas! My sister and her family came back from the Netherlands (where they currently live). What a wonderful gift. We also got to have my brother, Kyle's, girlfriend as our guest. She truly fits in quite well. My nephew Justin is now talking quite a bit and says, "mess yam" for "yes ma'am." How adorable!

Then Christmas with Vera & RD...

On Christmas Eve morning we celebrated with The Schmidt side of our family. As usual Grannie Bea SPOILED the kids; and spoiled us as well. She loves watching the kids open as many gifts as possible no matter how big or small. I don't know who gets more joy from it, the kids or Grannie Bea!

Since the majority of our family Christmas gift was the gift of being together, the kids and I went to Copper Mountain, Colorado. We wish Ronnie could have gone with us, but work kept him home. It's late and I keep dozing...so the next post will be Christmas with the Ellisor's at Uncle Fred and Aunt Sharon's as well as pics and video from our ski trip. Night all!!

Snow In Texas? Thank You Global Warming!!!

Friday many residents of Texas left for work with sleet or snow falling around them. What a beautiful and awesome sight! Some fretted and others just watched awestruck. We couldn't believe the steady large amount of snow falling the entire time it was snowing. In East Bernard, it started snowing about 7:20 and stopped about 3 pm. Below are some pics I took throughout the day to show the progression. Yesterday, the kids and I went to the church to help decorate for Christmas and couldn't believe the snow that was still left after a day of beautiful sunshine. Fairly decent sized snowmen were still standing and large grassy areas still were blanketed with snow. I only wish I had my camera with me. Enjoy pics of God's awesomeness (& I'm not talking about the cars and buildings in the photos! LOL)!

Photos from Granny's 90th Birthday Party

Granny & Great Aunt Georgia

Party Guests

Cake & Family Time

Thanksgiving at Dad's

Sunday we had lunch at Dad with the Ellisor side of our family. Fred and all his family, Judy & Stephanie, Dad & Erica, Meemaw, Mike & Laurel and Ronnie, the kids and I were all there to celebrate together. Colt is getting so big and more mobile every time I see him. He was crawling around everywhere and loves to give hugs. Andrew kept making him give hugs.

Colt really liked playing with the play center Courtney brought for him. It had lots of lights and sounds to keep him entertained.

We were especially blessed to get the chance to talk to Dawn, Jason, Lauren and Justin. Mostly we chatted with Lauren and Justin. Every time I talk to them Justin is talking more & more and Lauren is singing more & more in Dutch! She is so smart! How I wish they were here. Only 19 more days until they arrive back in the states!

When Judy got to dad's, she had a host gift for him...a jar of pickles that Betty Sue had put up. What a wonderful gift. Dad was very touched by her gift. This is our first holiday without Betty Sue and just wasn't quite the same. She brought such joy and laughter to our gatherings and I didn't realize just how much I would miss that until today. Who will do the Bill Cosby impersonations and tell the funny stories now? Fred...Sharon? The rest are retired or work with high school students...where's the humor there? Ha Ha!

Of course, what would be Thanksgiving without the talk of deer hunting?! Ronnie, Trey, Aliska and Andrew all went to the deer lease with Ronnie's parents. Aliska got her 1st buck, a 7 pointer. Ronnie got a smaaallll 8 point buck. He says it shrunk up on him after he shot it...ha, ha! Fred, Wey and Blake had gone hunting too and had a successful hunting trip as well. I'm sure hunting stories are like fishing stories; the bucks get bigger each time they tell their stories.

We had a great time visiting with everyone and especially can't wait til Christmas. For the first time, it will be at Fred's and then we will be leaving to go skiing. YEAH!! The kids just love to go to Fred and Sharon's. Heck, we did too as kids. Hope everyone had a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving and remembers daily all that we are to be thankful for!