Last month,m in may we were in a temp apartment waiting to fly over here. We got in a trip to Paris which was really fun. I miss Germany a lot but it is nice to be back on US soil. But, it’s been a little rough just cause we’re camping out in our new home with no stuff. Mostly it’s just uncomfortable because we only have plastic chairs and air matresses. But, we love our new home and we’re busy paiting and updating things. It’s a lot of work but it’s nice to be busy with something. The kids are kind of bored, but I just bought a large wooden play ground thing for the backyard. Should arrive today. It’ll be a beast to assemble but hopefully we can knock it out quick and they’ll have something to do!

Well, there are a million things I could write down but I”m gonna stop there. I should be able to give more frequestn updates now that I can do it at work. Stay tuned for my exciting adventures!

Another insight into how things are going…

So, the job is going well. I like it so far although I had to get like 6 shots to work at the hospital. Something about protecting me and the patients from disease or something crazy like that. Anyway, looks like there is a lot to do and certainly a lot of room for innovation…these doctors have ancient equipment! So, we’ll see if we can’t get them some newer servers. The only drawback so far is that I work in the server room which is kind of loud and FREEZING cold! I mean, it’s good that the server room is cold, but not so great that I am cold. Sometimes I have to buy a hot chocolate just to keep my core temp up. Oh well.

Anyway, hope this works. More to come!

Anyway, the weekend was great.  I got in on Thursday and went straight to McDonalds!  Then we went over to Austin and Sarah’s and saw little Luke for the first time and got to hang out with them.  It was great to have them so myself for a few minutes anyway.  We stayed over at Austin’s bishop’s house.  That was nice.  The next day I got in all the shopping I needed to do and hung out some more with mom and dad and Austin and Sarah.  It was great.  Plus I went to Barnes and Nobles and totally loaded up.  At the end of that day Megan and Kyle came in…on different planes!  Because of weather on the east coast, they had issues getting there.  But they made it!  It was great to see them as well.  Saturday morning we all went to the mall, mostly for the kids.  There was a big jungle gym and carousel and stuff.  Then we went to the beach and had lunch and waited for Brad and Celeste to arrive.  They did and we went to Austin’s stake center to have a big pizza party with Sarah’s family.  It was fun too.  Adam and Angela came in early Sunday morning.  Then Sunday was the actual blessing and though it was slightly delayed, it got done.  That was the reason why we were all there in the first place.  Austin did a wonderful job and it was all really nice and I was glad that I could have been a part of it.  After that, we went to the park and just are and hung out.  Almost everyone left for home on Monday, including me.  It was short but fun and it was great to see everyone.  Hopefully it happens more than once a year!

Now I am getting back into the swing of things.  Aside from Kristin being sick I think everyone is well.  Will still loves school and is coming along pretty good.  Grandma got him some learning computer games and they have helped him quite a bit I think, especially with his letters.  Asher changes his clothes about 80 times a day which is rather frustrating.  At least he is coming along with the potty training.  Almost there!  Then there is little Ellie-Jayne.  She’s still a doll and still tiny, but she melts our hearts.  Another month or so and I think she’ll be walking!   Here are some pics of their escapades…

She looked really funny with boots and no pants.

She is so petite!

Asher started taking his clothes off...

It turned into this...

Those goof balls!

Anyway, every is doing well.  We’ve all had runny noses…everyone else had some 24 hour virus that induced vomiting.  That was fun…the boys threw up so much I’m surprised they didn’t wither away!  Poor guys.  Somehow I managed to evade the virus.  2 more months of winter…that better be it!!  I ready for some sunshine and warm weather.

Speaking of, I am looking forward to going to LA for Austin and Sarah’s blessing of Luke.  Unfortunately I’ll be going alone.  It was just too much to pay for the whole family to come but it was important enough for me to go at least.  So, while it will be fun, I will miss my family terribly.  It won’t be the same without them.  However, we are taking a month off in May-June to come visit.  Looks like it will be May 10 through June 8.  We’ll divide it up between San Antonio and Oklahoma City.  So, if you want to come hang out with us, you can meet as at one of those two locations.  The travel is out “mid-tour” return travel.  So, we have until June 9, 2011 before we come home.  Seems like so long but it’ll fly by.

To close, here are some funny pics that people have posted on facebook.  I thought they were great!

In the band hall...caught unaware!

Seminary...my junior year I think?

Nauvoo trip before my senior year.

I have no idea when this was taken.

So, that’s it for my retro flashback thingy.  If you have old pics like this…send them my way!

recently we took the family out to Strasburg to see the Christmas market there.  It was 25 degrees out so we really had to bundle up!  When we go there we took a metro train into town from a park and ride and the boys thought that was the most awesome thing ever!  Once we got into town we started to wander around and look at the Christmas lights and the various booths.  The boys were getting restless so we got some awesome shortbread cookies and some hot chocolate.  That held them over until we could find a place to eat.  Ellie-Jayne was really melting down so we found a little sandwich place where we could warm up. It was really good!  After we ate everyone was much happier!

Asher was acting like a little goof ball.

Enjoying some warmth!

When we set out again we found a plaza that had a spinny ride – of course the boys didn’t think it was too cold to do that!  So, they got to go around several times.  The last time around Asher was on a motorcycle…I thought he looked hilarious!

Asher in his car.

William in his car.

Asher on his motorcycle!

This particular square was hosting a Russian exhibit and the booths and the products were beautiful.  But, not as beautiful as my two ladies!  Here’s a pic with them and Santa.

My two beautiful ladies bundled up.

It was a fun trip but it was just too cold.  The kids were rebelling against everything.  Oh well, what can you do right?  No matter how much I try to force them to have fun, it never works!

This weekend was our anniversary as well!  We got the neighbors (LDS) to watch the kids while we went up to the temple together.  We rarely get to go together since it is so hard to get someone to watch the kids and be away from the baby for so long.  But, we did Saturday and we did some sealings.  It was cool because all the other workers were German and so when they were  up there they did it in German but when it was our turn they did it in English.  It was fun to be back in there.  The session ended a little early so we went and sat in the celestial room for a while and prayed and just enjoyed being together – with no kids!   That night we also got a baby sitter and went out to eat at really nice restaurant/hotel.  It was a fun night and I am glad that we were able to spend some time away from the kids.

This week it has snowed and rained and the kids are going bonkers waiting for Santa to come.  Will had been waking  up in the middle of the night and then sleeping on the couch to see Santa.  We had to tell him that Santa wouldn’t come if he was down there.  Asher keeps waking up at 4am!  I’m ready for Christmas just so we can sleep normally again!

Here is a close out shot…Ellie-Jayne in her Christmas dress!

Ellie-Jayne in her Christmas dress. What a cutie!

A view of one of the streets of Bayonne.

A view of the cathedral.

Just enjoying lunch!

Mmmmmm.....lunch.....

Isn't it a beautiful day?

After our lunch and tour of Bayonne, we drove up through the Basque country side and into the foot hills of the Pyrenees mountains to a famous Basque cave.  There were actually 3 caves joined together.  The guide spoke in French and I even I couldn’t keep up, but it was pretty cool and the country side was absolutely gorgeous.  That was one of our favorite moments just driving around in this area. 

Walking up to the cave entrance.

Me and the country side.

Our climb out of the caves.

Posing by the entrance to the caves.

Thursday morning we took it easy and then we drove up into Dax.  I served here for a few months on my mission and it was a great turning point for me and where I really came into my own.  First we stopped at the Roman Bathes.  The water was really hot.  The sign said that the water is 64 degrees Celsius year-round.  People from all over the world come here to sooth their ailments.  The story is that a centurion had a dog that was really hurt from entering battle so many times.  The centurion was to leave again and didn’t want his dog to follow so we threw him in the river.  After the campaign, the centurion came back and found his dog there completely healed of all its wounds.  Now people come from all over to bathe in the thermal waters of Dax. 
       After that, we went walking around town and bought some stuff.  Kristin bought a really cool hat and I got some Foie Gras.  After we had our fun, we decided to see if we could look up my good friends Annie.  I won’t go into a lot of detail about her, but needless to saw she meant a lot to me on my mission and she is just the sweetest woman ever.  So, I found her old salon where she used to work and found out that she had retired.  But, the lady gave me her contact information and so we drove over to her house and had a great time reconnecting!

The thermal bath. Notice the steam!

Watch out! It's hot!

The boys next to the Centurian and his dog.

Me and Annie

Us and Annie

That was the end of our stay in Biarritz.  Unfortunately we weren’t able to go back to the beach, but we sure had a great time.  On the way back we had time for one last adventure.  We stopped in a small town along the Loire river and stayed the night in an awesome Chateau!  It was so cool.  Plus, they made reservations for us at a fancy restaurant and so we went and it was great!  Not only was the food good, but the boys were on their best behaviour.  It was so much fun.  Plus, it was just cool to live like the nobles of centuries ago, if just in a little way.  Tell you what…I could get used to that!

The view of the Loire from our rooms.

The front of our Chateau.

The tree lined drive up to the chateau.

Aren't the leaves beautiful?

The queen and her princess at the castle.

A prince reluctant to leave.

On saturday morning, we had one more stop to make…to a chateau that could fit many of the ones we stayed in inside!  The chateau Chambord!  It was really cool with a moat and everything.  It was a lot of fun just to walk around and to dream of what it would be like in those days to live there.  After that we drove home.  All in all, an excellent trip and we the best part is that I think we all felt relaxed after we came home.  We sure miss having family out here but there are some perks.  

Fortunately they had prepared for her arrival.

So, we left on Friday morning around 1130 or 1200.  I never actually leave when I intend on leaving!  I wanted to leave by 1000 but I knew that wasn’t going to happen.  But, as it turned out, it only took us 6 hours to get to where we were going so we were right on time for a French dinner!  We checked into our hotel and then drove over to a member’s house who I taught and who got baptised.  Then, her daughter got baptised then her son and then her husband.  So, it was great to see them.  We had a very French dinner and though they didn’t speak much English, we still had a great time.  We saw this car on the way down!  Super cool

So, on Saturday we hit the road again and made it to Biarritz around 6pm.  We rented a cool apartment for the week which was 3 blocks from the beach.  (here is our apartment)

The apartment was really cute and had a balcony that faced the mountains with a small ocean view.  It had 2 bedrooms, a nice sized living room, a kitchen and a separate eating area that was like a sun room.  Anyway, so after we unloaded the car, what was the first thing we did?  We went to the beach!!  We walked down there in what we were wearing and the boys loved running in and out of the water, although it was a little too strong for Will and this is how he looked as we left…

Anyway, we slept well that night.  Sunday we actually made it to the church in Bayonne.  It was pretty cool.  I actually recognized some folks and there were several people who came and spoke with us afterward.  We just went to sacrament meeting but that was enough.  I got some information about the mission and the ward and some of the areas I served in.  Like, Dax for example was closed and I had served there!  Oh well, that’s how things are in France.

That afternoon we went into downtown Biarritz and walked around.  It was so beautiful and we walked along the beach and we went to the Virgin on the Rock monument which was really cool.  Here are some pics:

This was in Biarritz.

This was my magazine cover pose.

Kristin looking pretty stunning in front of the docks.

This is the cathedral in Biarritz. It's beautiful.

Ellie-Jayne enjoyed herself!

This is the monument we visited.

Then we played in the sand.

Hanging out at the aquarium.

The local area.

The cutest picture of Will hanging from the trees.

The girls

Too windy at the beach!

Riding the train up the mountain.

The other half riding the train.

Who's the cutest girl ever? Me!!

View from the top of La Rhune.

http://aaron.bailliofamily.net/video

http://aaron.bailliofamily.net/video

And then this one is of Asher who fell asleep on the couch.  Totally crashed out…he never does this.  It was pretty funny.