Best Christmas Ever!

Thursday afternoon (Christmas Eve), we went up to the same motel in Ogden that we went to for Thanksgiving (Teri calls it our "cabin"). We took Suzi's kids to Golden Corral, then back to our "cabin" for a swim, while Suzi and Trent finished their Christmas shopping. Then, Alice and I opened our gifts at the "cabin" late on Christmas Eve. Our "cabin" provided breakfast Christmas morning, then we visited Suzi's family, Kristi's family, and Teri's family on our way home. When we got home, we had a "Skype" phone call/web cam visit with Michael's family. Then, everyone (except Michael's family) came over for Christmas dinner.

Brianne's Birthday

Brianne's birthday was Wednesday, December 9th. She loves live theater, so, after dinner at her favorite restaurant, we went to the Desert Star Playhouse for a Christmas spoof: "The Nutcracker, Men in Tights." It was hilarious and we all had a great time.

Jackson's Baptism

Jackson was baptized on Saturday, December 5th. We had a dinner afterward at Suzi's house with my parents, Gardners, Jensens, and McAuleys (including Howard). Then Sunday, we had a dinner at our house with my parents, Gardners, and Jensens.

Alice's New Horse

Alice has a new horse named "Beauty." She is a Tennessee Walker and is almost 7 years old. She has a great temperament and gets along well with Legend -- who is happy to have a roommate (most of the time).

Best Thanksgiving Ever!

Suzi has an early morning paper route that takes extra long on Thanksgiving Day (4 to 7 hours) because of extra ads, so the girls came up with a great plan. We got a motel (Comfort Suites) in Ogden that has a pool, a free breakfast, and is 17 minutes from Suzi's house. Gardners got a room, Jensens got a room, we got a room, and Alice's Mom got a room. Suzi and Trent did the paper route and caught a couple of hours of sleep at home while their kids slept on hide-a-beds in our room and Alice's Mom's room. We arrived at the motel Wednesday evening, played games, and had a devotional. Thursday, we had breakfast and swimming at the motel, had Thanksgiving dinner and a devotional at Suzi's house, then had games etc. at the motel. Friday morning we had breakfast at the motel, then departed for home. Suzi and Trent joined us for the Wednesday and Thursday night activities as well as everything at their house and the the Friday breakfast. I think everyone had a good time, but for Alice and I, it was the best Thanksgiving ever! Picture 1: the motel; Picture 2: the restaurant where breakfast was served; Picture 3: Justen and Maryn gave the younger kids rides on the luggage cart; Pictures 4-6 and the Video clip: the motel pool.

Jackson's Birthday

Jackson's 8th birthday was on Sunday, November 15th. We were invited for Sunday dinner on his birthday, then we took him to see "Astro Boy" on Tuesday, November 17th.

Justen's Concert

On October 27th, we went to Justen's percussion concert. On the first number, he played the bells (metal xylophone); on the second, he played the vibraphone; and on the third, he played the gong.
I've included a collage of the performance.

Dodge Reunion

On October 17th, we went to Mesa to the last Dodge Reunion -- the 100th anniversary of my Grandma and Grandpa (Delos and Alice Dodge). My cousin, David Dodge -- son of Loren (deceased) -- who lives just a couple of miles from us, was in charge of the program and talked us into going. The first video is part of a song I did that my Aunt Pearl (deceased), wife of Russ (deceased), used to do. The second is David and Danny (his brother). The third is the whole group singing "God Be With You."

Legend

A lot of change has occurred from October 2008 to August 2009. Legend's coat has gotten lighter -- Alice's has gotten darker. Legend's hair has gotten shorter -- Alice's has gotten longer. Legend still doesn't wear shoes, but Alice has gone from tennis shoes to boots. He also has a new home with more space and an opportunity to explore the neighborhood (with Alice, of course). I think they're both very happy with the changes.

Joseph's Baptism

Of course, the main highlight of the trip was Joseph's birthday and baptism.

August 13th in Georgia

We got back from Georgia the night before school started, so I'm just now reporting on our trip. One of the highlights was joining each of the kids for lunch. Each grade has a separate lunch period, so we were able to spend individual lunchtime with Mary, Joseph, and Katie.

Trent's Bishopric

On Sunday, Trent was made 2nd Counselor in the bishopric. His bishop is a very impressive European (French-speaking Belgian of Italian descent), Bishop Ardizzone.

Bauer's Birthday

Bauer's Birthday was July 20th and he had a water party at a park in South Ogden. We took Chase with us and the boys had a great time together.

Chase's Birthday

Chase's Birthday was July 17th, but he didn't celebrate it on that day. Edna had a big party at Chuck-A-Rama on the 18th (Youngs, Barleys, and Dodges -- because Mike and Phyllis were in town) and I think Chase felt like that was his party. Then, we took him to Bauer's party on the 20th and gave him these books afterward.

Draeden's Birthday Activity

Since Draeden's birthday was June 7th and we left on June 9th, we did our activity with him on Tuesday of this week. He wanted to play in the park, but it was too hot for him, so we took him to the playland at Carl's Jr. -- and he had a great time.

Kristi's New House

Kristi's new house is very similar to the old one except they don't have grass yet. They are now about 2 minutes from the kids' school, 2 minutes from shopping, and 3 minutes from the temple (the Jordan River Temple -- where they were married).

Justen's Birthday

On Justen's 13th birthday -- Sunday, June 28th -- Teri invited us for dinner. Yesterday, we took him to his favorite restaurant and a movie.

Home Again

In 3 days, we've seen all of our grandkids. Friday, we had an overnight layover in Atlanta, so Michael's family picked us up at the airport, took us to dinner, and stayed at the same hotel as us. Saturday, Suzi's family came for a visit. Sunday, Teri invited us for dinner, then we went to see Kristi's new house. Movie 1: In Kusadasi, Turkey, they still weave rugs by hand (for a price); Movie 2: Traditional Greek instruments and dancing in Crete.

Day 17: Santorini to Atlanta

Last night in Santorini, we rode mules from the harbor up to the city of Thira. Santorini was thought to be an island in Minoan times (3000 B.C.), but it turned out to be the top of a volcano that erupted about 1450 B.C. All that was left was the rim of the volcano and the mouth filled in with water. Thira and several other cities are built on that rim. After walking around town and going back to the internet cafe, Alice wanted to ride back down. (If she can't ride a horse, a mule will do -- actually I think it was a donkey she rode back down). I walked and took pictures. This morning, 9:30 (Athens time) Friday June 26th, we are sitting in the Athens airport waiting to check-in for our flight -- with 45 minutes of free WiFi. We should arrive in Atlanta at 8:05 p.m. (Atlanta time). Picture 1: Thira on the rim of the volcano; Picture 2: Alice riding a donkey down the hill; Picture 3: Thira (taken from our shuttle boat) -- you can see the zig-zag path of the 588 steps of the donkey/walking trail up the middle of the picture; Picture 4: Sunset in Santorini.

Day 16: Rhodes to Crete to Santorini

This morning, we arrived in Heraklion, which is the capital of Crete. We took a 7 a.m. excursion to a small wine-producing village called Peza, where they had a wine-tasting (while we looked for postcards). Then, we went to another small village, called Archanes, where we got to taste Greek pastries and see some traditional Greek singing and dancing. Tonight, we're in Santorini at an internet cafe. Tomorrow, we sail back to Athens and catch a plane -- we can't believe it's almost over. Picture 1: Sunrise in Heraklion (we've seen more sunrises in the last few days than we've seen in decades); Picture 2: A 3500 year-old Minoan farmhouse on Crete; Picture 3: Even modest homes in Archanes have elaborate courtyards; Picture 4: Greek dancers and musicians.

Day 15: Patmos to Rhodes

We left Patmos at 8:45 p.m. last night for Rhodes. Alice is really into this "cruise thing" and talked me into going to "karaoke night" last night. I lost my head for a few minutes and sang "Hey, Jude." Today, in Rhodes, we toured the old fortress in Rodos, then visited the acropolis at Lindos. Apparently, the acropolis in Athens isn't the only one -- each town in ancient times had its own acropolis for both religious and defensive purposes and each was strategically located at the top of a hill. Apparently, the Apostle Paul preached in Lindos, too. We also visited a family that produced ceramics -- there are only 8 of those families left in Rhodes. Picture 1: The cave where John wrote revelations has been turned into a white Greek Orthodox church; Picture 2: Looking down on the church (from Picture 1) and Patmos; Picture 3: The acropolis at Lindos, Rhodes; Picture 4: The Bay of St. Paul.

Day 14: Mykonos to Ephesus to Patmos

We left Mykonos at about 11:45 pm last night at arrived at Kusadasi, Turkey, at 7 am today. That was VERY early for us to start a tour, but it was well worth it. Just a few miles from Kusadasi is Ephesus -- where the apostle Paul preached from 54-57 A.D. Ephesus flourished from the 11th century B.C. to the 7th century A.D., but most of the buildings we saw were built in the 2nd century B.C. In the afternoon, we went to Patmos -- where the apostle John wrote Revelations. The history written by his scribe follows church doctrine precisely. It says he lived to be 100 (and wrote Revelations when he was 95), and that when he "died," they went to his tomb and he wasn't there. I couldn't find an internet cafe in Patmos and we had to get back to the ship, so I couldn't update the blog. Picture 1: Our cruise ship on the left, Alice in the middle, and "Little Venice" on the right in Mykonos; Picture 2: Windmills in Mykonos; Picture 3: The 2nd century B.C. amphitheater in Ephesus which holds 24,000 people -- this is probably the last place Paul taught before being driven out; Picture 4: Turkish rugs in Kusadasi.

Day 13: Athens to Mykonos

We returned our second car, left our last motel, and boarded a cruise ship for 4 days. Our first stop is the Greek island of Mykonos. We stopped here tonight at 7:30 pm for a few hours, then we'll board the ferry again and travel overnight to Ephesus, Turkey. The cruise ship has internet service, but it's a dollar a minute and and I have to use their computer (which means I can't upload pictures from my camera). l'm at an internet cafe on Mykonos that has Wifi right now and hope I can find another tomorrow. I have great pictures of Mykonos, but don't have time to upload them right now. Picture 1: This one-way street has "Do Not Enter" signs (the red ones with the white bar), but it is the only way to enter the parking garage for our hotel in Athens; Picture 2: The port of Piraeus as our cruise ship was pulling out; Picture 3: Alice in her fashionable life jacket after our "lifeboat drill"; Picture 4: A view from our cabin window.

Day 12: Athens to Athens (Dust to Dust)

We made it to most of sacrament meeting today. (It was extremely hard to find and then we had to park 3 or 4 blocks away.) The mission president and his wife -- who sounded like they're leaving after having completed their 3 years -- both spoke. She's from Australia and spoke in English, he's a native Greek (though I don't think they lived in Greece before their mission) and he spoke in Greek -- with translation). Next, we climbed the Acropolis and surveyed the birthplace of democracy. The Parthenon isn't as "intact" as they make it look in pictures, but it's still breathtaking (and it's in pretty good shape for being built in the 5th century BC). We also pondered Paul's speech about the "Unknown God" (in Acts 17:22-32) as we gazed down on Mars Hill. Alice says that sometimes one "ruin" doesn't seem any different than any other, but for me, it's an exhilarating feeling to stand where Socrates, Aristotle, and the Apostle Paul once stood. We had an early dinner -- I had souvlaki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souvlaki) and Alice had spaghetti (we had the same thing yesterday in a little "down-home" cafe on the outskirts of Corinth that was much tastier) -- then we went back to our room to rest up (and COOL OFF) before our boat trip tomorrow. We'll be on a cruise of the Greek islands our last 4 days. There's supposed to be internet service on board, so I hope to be able to update the blog each day. Picture 1: Late last night, I discovered that there's a pool and restaurant on top of our hotel -- this is a view of the Acropolis from there; Picture 2: A view of Alice and the Parthenon (and scaffolding) from the east; Picture 3: A view of the Parthenon (and me) from the west; Picture 4: Mars Hill (in the foreground with people on it).