Disneyland Pics

Michael & Amy on Casey Jr.

My Sweet Boy with Dale

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

Heidi, Michael, Jackie, Samantha

Amy (best expressions), Scott

One of my favorites - Amy is hilarious and so photogenic

Waiting for lunch at Ariel's Grotto

Yep - Like father like son

We got some more pictures from Disneyland from Jackie. They turned out really good. She has a nice camera and the color came out really clear even on the night pictures.

Happy Birthday to Me

R Reposted - One of my favorite pictures. I think I was seven.
Michael got me a new outfit

and a bracelet - "A Topaz, amongst my jewels - Are you mad?"

The top one is me at 1 yr. old in Germany

My first birthday at my grandmother's house

I think @ 3 yrs. old

Sunday was my birthday - 38th. We celebrated over at the house with Michael and David. Mutti made me a cake out of Fat Boys, the best cake ever. I love ice cream sandwiches. Let's see - a few childhood memories.

1. Born in Gaffney, S.C.

2. School - I don't remember the name of the pre-school but remember the location out towards the hospital. J. Paul Beam Elementary, West Jr. High, Timpview (10th), Isolde-Kurz Gymnasium (11th), Mtn. View (12th)

3. Playing in the woods and Kudzu - make believe castles and homes (Thanks Michael!)

4. Making grass homes in the front yard out of grass after the yard had been cut

5. David swinging on the vine across the creek in front of the yard and falling (Wasn't there but the funniest story which gets told multiple times each year)

6. Scoring 9.45 on vault in gymnastics (my favorite childhood sport)

7. Jumping 11' 1" in the long jump at the Atlanta Track Classic when I was 8 and receiving a trophy for first place

8. Walking through the tunnel (pipe) at the creek at the bottom of our home across the street. Occasionally there were snakes.

9. Walking the creek at the end of the road in the middle of the winter to see where it ended. Wow, it was a long walk back on the road and cold. We weren't too bright. We had plenty of imagination. Good thing we were athletic.

10. Winning 10 blue ribbons at the multi-school field day competition

11. Challenging the guy at church, whom I had a crush on (12 yrs old), to a race and winning because he beat me at the church field day and I knew I was faster. They had stupid activities like throwing. I throw like a girl and could never win any of those events. I can't remember his name at the moment. Only guy at church I ever had a crush on and had a lot of fun flirting with him. Last name was Mathis.

12. Trying to be the first to finish every test or assignment at school. I didn't realize I was so competitive.

13. Pets - Calico our first cat. We took in every stray. She would always hide in a closet when giving birth to kittens. Max, our German shepard, who bit my grandmother and he had to be put to sleep. We loved him and were sad when that happened.

14. Climbing the pine trees which lined the back yard. The best climbing trees. I fell out once and landed on my back - not fun.

15. Taking Mutti's silver and china and playing town with it. I was always the banker. Making the restaurant food out of brite lites and rocks wrapped in Kudzu.

Ok, I could go on forever, after all 38 years.....but will stop before it gets painful.

Oma

Oma's Funeral
Siblings (David, Kirsten, Kristina, Michael, Heidi

Family

My grandfather passed away a day before my mom's birthday

and three years after I was born

Oma passed away two years ago on my birthday (yesterday). She arrived from Germany on the day I was born and I guess decided it was a good date as it was when she passed away as well. It does make it easy for me to remember the date. We stopped by the cemetary yesterday. It was a cold a dreary day even snowing - in April - Crazy weather. We had her body cremated and shipped over, which has been really nice. We were able to do a marker for her and my grandfather as his marker in Germany has been dissolved. I do have pictures of it though. Now we do not have to worry about Oma's marker being dissolved and Michael is there every week taking care of her, which she would love. He is the only person I know who carries around a shovel and broom in his car to take care of the grave sites of friends and family. He is extremely close to those who have moved on.

Tae-kwondo

Tyler decided he wanted to start Tae-kwondo. He went and visited a couple of schools and then let me know everything he found out. He tried a couple of free lessons and picked World Class Taekwondo in Orem. The Master is Mary Louise Zeller who we Googled and were very impressed with. He started last week and is very excited. He is also very pleased with his uniform. He already tested for his white belt and was able to get it the first night. We estimate that he can get half way to his black belt before he leaves on his mission next year. I think it is a great discipline to learn. They also focus on meditation which I think will help him on his mission and in life. Plus he should be able to defend himself a little while on his mission. Master Zeller called me the day after we checked out her school and mentioned they are now starting a self defense class for missionaries after talking to Tyler.

Home Sweet Home

This is what we came home to - snow, wind, and rain. This has been the longest winter. We got home on Thursday and I was so excited not to have to work Friday or Saturday. What a lovely vacation. It was so hard to get up on Monday and go back to normal life.

Las Vegas

What is there to say - We walked down the strip, ate at the buffet at Treasure Island where the deserts were yummy. Creme Brulee - so good. Tyler got a t-shirt, sweatshirt and shot glass. We saw, we ate, we left - unfortunately it was 5:00 p.m. Their freeway is awful and under construction. It took us over an hour to get out of Vegas. We were staying in Cedar City and got there @ 9:00 p.m. We stayed at the Abbey Inn and highly recommend it. They have a great breakfast and the rooms are really nice. The only negative are the pillows. I have to sleep on my own pillow and forgot to take it. Theirs were too puffy, which gave me a headache.

Hoover Dam

We decided to go home through Vegas and stopped at Hoover Dam. There was a ton of traffic and people. We pulled into the parking terrace and every level was full except the top. We passed it and had to turn around a little past the dam. Luckily at that point the line wasn't too long. When we left traffic was backed up for miles. It looks like a new bridge is being built (so amazing) to divert traffic from the dam.

Movie

We stopped on the way out of the park in Tusayon and watched the movie of the Grand Canyon, which was well done and interesting. Tyler fell asleep and missed half of it. He always sleeps in movies. We got popcorn and a drink. I was so stuffed. We then headed back to our hotel. Mutter went to bed early and we went into town to the tourist shops and went shopping. The boys purchased a Route 66 t-shirt and Michael got Sina some earrings in the shape of horses. I also got some earrings with tourqoise in them. We stopped at a diner for dinner which had good food other than the french fries were cold. I wasn't hungry so didn't order. Tyler ordered fish and chips and ate a few bites and was done too.

El Tovar

I hate my camera!!!!!!

After walking along the rim we decided to find a place to eat lunch and decided on the El Tovar hotel because the dining room in on the rim. I was glad we didn't stay in the park. The hotels were nothing special and parking was not easy. I can't imagine what it is like in the summer. The food was okay but the scenery more than made it for it. We had a really relaxing meal and Tyler was able to purchase a t-shirt and a shot glass of the Canyon in the gift shop. Our waiter told Mutter that she had a really good appetite. She was eating a salad and got really embarassed. I told her he was trying to flirt with her. We got Creme Brulee for desert, my favorite. It had strawberries in it. I like the vanilla bean better but still good.

Grand Canyon

After the flight we drove through the town of Tusayon and into the Grand Canyon. Mutti has a senior park pass so we didn't have to pay. It's worth it to travel with your parents. We stopped on the east side and walked along the rim. People do the craziest things there. We saw a sign that said not many fall but usually those who do do not survive. Seeing what people do I am not surprised there are not more. People sit on the edge, hold on to the edge to get a cool picture and other stupid stuff. It was windy and cold. The sun came out a little but the wind was too cold.

Grand Canyon

Michael sitting cozily in the back
Waiting for our turn

Tyler sitting next to the pilot. You can see the forest, which you fly over first

Still waiting - What a sweet boy!

Tyler in front of our helicopter

We got into Williams, AZ @ 9:00 p.m. There were three exits, who knew so we just got off the first one and headed down the main street. That is all there is but we didn't see our hotel. We stopped at a gas station so Mutter could ask for directions. We were glad to check in. I don't sleep well in hotels so with the help of some Benadryl I had a pretty good night. We had made a reseration for a helicopter ride at 10:00 a.m. the nest morning and didn't tell Tyler. We didn't know exactly where the airport was but knew it was outside the south entrance and so started out a little early as we didn't want to be late. Tyler was struggling trying to figure out our madness in leaving early but after @ an hour drive was happily surprised and very excited. We took a 30 minute flight over the Grand Canyon which was so amazing, especially as it was our first time. Everyone loved and it and we recommend anyone visiting to definately do it. Words cannot describe the feeling you have you once you fly over the edge. Our pilot was very nice and from Spanish Fork. It was a little windy and he did a great job keeping it steady. It was our first time in a helicopter but really a calm and pleasant flight experience. Tyler and I sat up front and Michael and Mutti in the back.

We of course purchased the picture they take and Tyler had to get a shot glass. If you haven't guessed he collects them.

Route 66

Everyone teased me about staying in Williams because we had to go all the way around in a big loop but honestly I don't think you can stay anywhere on the east road into the Grand Canyon. There is a town outside the south entrance where you can stay but that was a longer drive anyway. Tyler was excited because we got to drive on Route 66. We stopped in Flagstaff for dinner and to take a couple of pictures. Tyler was embarassed to take his picture but was also excited. We had to stop at a local grocery store so he could get a shot glass from Flagstaff and Route 66. We also got some Route 66 pins to go on our Disney lanyards. Now I have to get a pin from Cars.

Glen Canyon Dam

Have I mentioned that I hate my camera. I should have returned it but I was too lazy. Anyway, on the way we stopped at Glen Canyon Dam. Didn't know it was there. We walked around a little and were going to go in the visitor center and were told we were not allowed to have bags or purses. We went and put everything in the car and saw they had a gift shop. I guess if it fits in your pocket you can take it in. What a hassle. We were going to do the tour but they only had one opening and Tyler didn't want to do it alone. So we got back in the car and continued on our way.

History - On October 15, 1956, the first blast occurred and the construction of Glen Canyon Dam was officially underway. Before that date, the site was virtually inaccessible and construction crews were forced to drive 200 miles to cross from one side of Glen Canyon to the other.
The remote location was selected for the project by a group of Bureau of Reclamation engineers and geologist working from 1946 to 1948. The site met several criteria: the area forming the basin could contain an immense amount of water; the canyon walls and bedrock foundation were strong and stable enough to safely support the high dam; and a large source of good rock and sand was available at nearby Wahweap Creek.
By 1959, the Glen Canyon Bridge was completed permitting the trucks to deliver equipment and materials for the dam and the new town of Page, Arizona.

The plant generates more than 1.3 million kilowatts of electricity with each of the 40-ton steel shafts turning at 150 rpm, generating nearly 200,000 horsepower. With all eight generators operating at full output, over 15 million gallons of water will pass through the power plant's penstocks each minute. The electricity is upgraded on a transformer deck from 13,800 volts to 230,000 and 345,000 volts for transmission to distant markets.