Sunday, November 4, 2007

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Visiting with Linda/Todd and George/Amber

We had such a wonderful visit with Linda, Todd, Hana, Georgia, Georgie, and Amber,
and Todd's friends from Germany. We first went to the "local" famous Mike's corn maze where
not only did we have to figure out how to navigate the maze but there were locations of checkpoints where we had to play chimes and either name that tune or name the composer.
We did well, thanks to Todd and Linda, who seem to have a talent for this. Who could have guessed. We also took the kids to Sugarloaf mountain nearby for terrific views of the foliage.
The pictures don't do it justice. Beautiful!!! The girls loved playing in the leaves and climbing on the rocks. We also got to see a lot of ladybugs, thousands!!!!
We came back to our house just in time for Todd and Linda's friends Florian and Barbara from
Germany. The girls, as well as all of us, oogled over their son, Benny. He had such an adorable smile. Georgie and Amber arrived just in time for dinner and great conversation. And WE TIRED Georgia out.... what time did she fall asleep?
Linda and Todd HOW did you get up the next am after our awesome conversation until the wee hours in the am?
Georgie and Amber... Where are the pictures of you? I think they are in your camera. Send them to our blog. I had a wonderful time walking back to our house with you both from the
state park D.A.R. The apple picking was late season, but talking to the 90 year old orchard owner was memorable.
Love to all,
Valerie

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Pictures from Freiberg































Here are some photos from the seizure prediction workshop in Freiberg, Germany. What a great place to hold a conference! I took a couple of extra days to do some exploring.









The old town is pretty much unchanged since the 1300's, except that some buildings were reconstructed after WWII. The streets are cobblestoned and closed to traffic except for streetcars. My favorite part was the farmer's market 6 days a week around the church, and the hiking trails into the Black Forest that started at the edge of the old town.

George I bet this brings back some memories!!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

monica on the piano



Monica is learning Christmas songs on her own, because she enjoys the piano so much. Natalie and Tori still enjoy wrestling each other more than the piano.

Mark

Monday, October 8, 2007

weekend of October 20th

Hello Schevons!!
It seems , after talking with Georgie, Linda and Cathy in the past few days that we all have
ideas about what to do, or places to visit during October 18-21st. I thought that this would be
a great way to state our ideas and come up with a plan so that we can spend the maximum amount of time together! I know my girls are so excited to see their Minnesota cousins, Hana
and Georgia. We miss you all so much.

Here is Mark's and my schedule for the few days before and on the above dates so you can work with us. Our girls have a half day of school on 10/17 and full day 10/18 and 10/19. Mark or I
will be working a 4-1am shift on the 10/18, and one of us will be working 10am-8pm on 10/20 and 10/21. (we are hoping to get out of our 2oth shift.

Since one of us is working those days, it still would be possible for us to welcome guests to our house (as we talked about-Linda and Georgie) and also to travel and meet somewhere for part of the time (the girls can miss a day of school). Friday
night we are trying to get out of our shift because our good friend Nicholas is having a 40th birthday party that we don't want to miss. We are also trying to get out of our shift on Saturday.

Georgie , can you let us know your schedule? When will you be in the Catskills?
Cathy said she had been planning (for several months) a visit to a sheep/wool festival in NY state and was planning to be in the Catskills the weekend of Oct. 20,21st.

Linda and Todd, what do you think about our schedules? Could your German friends meet
us in the Catskills on Sunday? If not, our house is still available for you to meet them on Saturday.

Any chance Cathy or Georgie wants to take one, two or three of our kids to the Sheep and Wool festival Friday? I could meet you half way. And then drive out later Friday night after
our friends party.

Any thoughts?
Love, Val

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Lake Caribou


Hey yall!

This is such a great idea! Its so nice to see pictures of what everyone is up to. I thought I would add some pictures of my recent birthday "week" trip. It was so nice to get away...again. ; ) These are some photos of my girlfriend Amber and I hiking in the Trinity Alps. Of course, we were traveling in Linda and Todd's footsteps. When I told her where we were planning to go, she immediately said "oh yeah! Todd and I went to that lake a few years back. Its beautiful!" Its hard to find a place on the planet they haven't been too.... And indeed, it was a stunning place to be.


Amber on Sawtooth ridgeKeeping our camp clean!


Last week at the Schevon house

Hi folks,

It took the entire week to rip up the driveway and dig out the sod for a brand new walkway and front porch. What an experience! Decisions, decisions, decisions! All with the help of Georgie, master architect. As you can see, the final result is beautiful. The true colors of the pavers will show up better later after the sand is washed off.


Before:
During:
After! Note how much Dad is smiling.

Podcast recommendation

Hi everyone,

I discovered the wonderful world of podcasts recently. Took me long enough! Anyway I was listening to this one yesterday and I absolutely loved it so I thought I would pass it on. It's called "Cast On" and it's a knitting podcast (really), and here is the link:

http://www.cast-on.com

Happy listening!

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Diego and Alissa



Here are pictures of a recent concert we went to....Hope everyone is doing well....

Friday, September 7, 2007

School has started.














Hi Everyone!! School has started and so have my allergies. Monica is doing well and has only said positive things about school. Natalie is going through an adjustment period this being her first full days in kindergarten. She will do very well i'm sure. Toria is enjoying her homeschooling thus far and will be starting with a new tutor next week.
The above pictures are from the first days of school and from the recent Minnesota trip.


Happy Belated Birthday to Cathy!

Glad to hear Hana is feeling better and is out of the hospital. We can't wait to hear her school stories.

Mark and Valerie