Three Months in Pictures

OK, so I've been delinquent. Here's the run-down of the last few months to restore us to everyone's good graces.

Jeff earned his Webelos badge and Arrow of Light . . .

. . . and went on his first stake 11-year-old campout. I was so involved in running that campout, that I didn't get a single picture of him. As we were cleaning up, I got a picture of his leader taking down their patrol flag. Does that count?

Brett turned 15 and began my least favorite year in the life of a teenager. You know what this means? Driver's Ed. Cringe.

And right after his birthday, he spent a week with the high school band touring New York City! They left Kennewick at 3:00 am, and he was looking pretty tired by that evening . . .

They went to Lincoln Center, Central Park, Juliard School of Music, and a ton of other places I can't remember right now. They even saw a Broadway play. They were scheduled to see "Wicked," but ended up with "Mary Poppins." Not a problem, though. It turns out that even "Mary Poppins" is fantabulous when it's on Broadway.

Statue of Liberty . . .

Museum of Natural History . . .

And a blurry shot of Angel Moroni atop the temple in Manhattan.

In April, Kim came home! The first part of the month, she was busy writing a paper that she presented at a conference in California a week ago. With that out of the way, she's been learning how to play the guitar and teaching herself Hebrew and German. Lest you think she works too hard, let me assure you that she does take time off to feed the ducks . . .

. . . and vandalize city property by planting lilies in medians . . .

. . . and don disguises with Jeff.

She's also pretty good at helping me consume as many calories as humanly possible. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE having all my children living at home!

Now on to Bryce . . . I'm sure you've all seen the pictures and read the details of his senior prom on Facebook. It was the date of the century and included an airplane flight to the San Juan islands. You'll have to check out Facebook for a full photographic report, but here are a couple pictures to make sure he's represented in the family blog.





Brett and Bryce are not the only air travelers we've had this Spring. Jim wins the prize for the longest flight -- 12 hours to EUROPE! He got to go back to Belgium and look up his old mission territory.

You can find all kinds of shops in Amsterdam that might be slightly illegal here . . .

He managed a quick visit to Paris . . .

Saw the Louvre . . .

Yes, "saw" it. Didn't go in, just saw it.

I'm so sure! How can you stand in front of the Louvre

and not go in?

Saw Disneyland . . .

Says Paris' version of Disneyland is sorry, and you should
definitely not go to Paris to see Disneyland.
(Disneyland? Hello? You go to Paris to see the Louvre!)

Then on to Luxembourg . . .

And into Salzburg, Austria to see all the "Sound of Music" sites.
Here's the pavilion where they filmed "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" . . .

And the palace used as the backside of the VonTrapp Family home . . .

And the mountain in the opening sequence of the movie . . .

He LOVED Austria. Says it has the most beautiful countryside on the face of the earth, and we should retire there. You'll all have to come visit us when we retire in Salzburg.

This ends three months of delinquency. Next week's update will actually be posted next week. Promise!