DEUTSCHE FREUNDE 25TH ANNIVERSARY AND SUMMER PICNIC 2007

With the German music playing in the background and laughing and talking going on, a good time was had by all at the German picnic held on Wednesday July 11 in Frau Traudl Batten's beautiful back yard. She had it set up so nice with tables and chairs and there was plenty of good food. I counted 21 cars and I believe there were 36 people in all who attended. God answered our prayers for sunny weather because earlier in the week, it was so rainy. Tom was manning the BBQ grilling bratwurst right and left, Barbara helped with setup, and Chrissy and I were the take-down cleanup crew along with Tom. It is so much fun to see all the smiling faces and listen to the German language. Laughter is the same in any language. Deutsche Freunde translates to German friends. As you can see from the pictures, some wore their traditional German dirndls. Carsten would not cooperate and keep his lederhosen on for the crowd.

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Bernie is Home Again in Alaska.

After leaving Savannah, Georgia and making one stop up in Washington DC to pick up his buddy Kyle, Bernie has made it driving to AK in 7 days. They were driving about 1,000 miles a day and would have made it on Thursday but they got a flat outside of Tok Junction. So what could have been 6 was 7 days. We are so thankful they were safe. They said they saw bear, moose,wild buffalo, and caribou across Canada and AK. This was Kyle's first trip to AK and he left the next day to get back to work in DC.

Angie arrived on Sunday and we are so happy to have her. She is definitely a cheerful addition to our family. She is Finn's new babysitter during the week and will be starting school in the fall at UAA to finish her degree.

The garden has been coming along nicely. The peas are getting tall although I don't see pods on them yet. The lilacs are just coming in bloom for the past two weeks. It seems we are a little behind in the sunshine department, but beautiful nonetheless.

Time to Catch Up!!!

Well Gretchen and I have been home for about 10 days now and I promised I would catch up. Here are some pictures mostly of the trip but some of beautiful Greta.
We drove to Charlotte to spend the weekend about three hrs. away and went to the new Billy Graham Library which opened up the first part of June. Three of the past presidents were there for the dedication, Sr. George Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. The library was full of the life and events of Billy Graham and the impact he has had on the lives of people here in the United States as well as the rest of the world, preaching the Gospel. Ruth Graham had recently died the week before and her body is laid to rest on the grounds. Billy grew up there in Charlotte, NC.

We also went to Duke University Gardens and spent the day. That was probably the coolest day we were there which was 88 degrees and humid. The gardens and grounds are gorgeous and in full bloom started by Sarah P. Duke who bestowed millions of dollars to the University way back when. We enjoyed ourselves walking Finn around in the stroller. The University itself began in the late 1800's and is beautiful.

Greta looks like her G-Pop in one of my favorite pictures with with tiny arm by her head. She is absolutely beautiful. She looks so tiny in her carseat.