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A Bundle of Myrrh

"My beloved is unto me as a bundle of myrrh." Song of Solomon 1:13

Archive for the ‘Vacation’ Category

Vacation

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

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We had a great time last week traveling through the mid-west and visiting friends. First we headed to Chicago for some Uno’s pizza. Phil has been talking this pizza up since 1979 and I’ll say he was right to do so. It was very good. We drove into downtown Chicago and got a great parking spot that we only paid $21 for!

That belly is all from the pizza. It is almost all toppings and cheese. Dieters need not apply.

After our Chicago pizza we arrived in Ft. Wayne, IN to spend time on the seminary campus and visit Wes and Kristina. It was so romantic to be back in the place where the greatest love story of all time began! The ping pong table where Phil and I (or at least one of us) fell in love is still there waiting for other unsuspecting boys and girls to fall into its spell.
I’m so proud of my seminarian cuzzie! Isn’t it something to look back on the last several years and see now where the Lord has brought us. We are very blessed.

 


The Great Communicator
and
the Great Mooshu Mishap of 2009!

We took Westie and Kristina out for Mongolian style dining. Westie fixed his bowl, but didn’t exactly get the dish he was expecting. Information I found on Wikipedia may help explain what went wrong: “The moo shu pork is wrapped in the moo shu pancakes, which are eaten by hand in the manner of a soft taco. The diner typically wraps his or her own pancakes, although waiters in Chinese restaurants are often willing to perform this function as a courtesy to diners who are unable to do so.” Perhaps you looked as if you were “unable” Wes.
We left “The Fort” and went down to Seymour, Indiana, the home of John “Cougar” Mellencamp, to spend a few days with the Lepley family. Dan and Phil were classmates at the seminary.
We had the best ice cream from the Russel Stover store! I liked mine so much I decided to wear it all over my shirt! (Sorry, no pictures provided.)
Meet the Lepleys; Wendy, Isaac, Dan, Marcus, Meghan and Carina! We all went to the Creation Museum on Friday. It was a very interesting and impressive place to visit. It took a biblical take on the creation of the world and is very well done. If your ever in Kentucky check it out!


Phil made a new friend at the petting zoo next to the Creation Museum.
The Hales in Paradise. Was there was kissing in the Garden of Eden? Probably not.
Lily had such a good time playing with the kids. I gotta get one of these cars.

Lily’s first time in a swing.


For supper we went to Newport KY to drink and pig out at the Hofbrauhaus! Here’s the inside of the brewery they have there. This Hofbrauhaus is a smaller replica of the original in Munich. This was the first in the U.S. Besides German style beer, they serve authentic German food.
They serve beer in 1 Liter mugs, like in Germany. That’s plenty for the kids and your closest friends. Those Germans must have strong wrists.
We cut Lily off after this one.
Behind us is the Ohio river and downtown Cincinnati.
Phil was recruited to play in a dodgeball tournament Dan was heading up at their church. Don’t ask anymore.
Here we are at Kevin’s, another seminary classmate. He is a pastor in a smaller town about 1.5 hour west of St. Louis. These are his two daughters Chloe and Julia. Lily enjoyed having playmates. It was good to catch up with Kevin and Rebekah and to hear about his dual parish.
Then we drove home. The drive was long, about 1800 miles total, but Lily did great. In fact she did better than Aubri and didn’t complain as much as Phil. It is good to be home after a nice trip seeing old friends and eating good food.

For more pictures of our trip feel free to view our Picasa album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aubrih/VacationApril2009#

>Texas

Friday, November 28th, 2008

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We were able to spend a week in Texas this month. Lily loved the 13 hour drive and finally getting to meet some of her relatives. Here are some, or a lot, of pictures of all the loved ones we were able to see.
At Phil’s parents house.

Grandpa Neil and Grandma Verna
Lily and Grandma.
A nap with Grandpa.
Lily and Fafa (Aunt Sylvia) who came all the way from Alabama just to meet her!
Fancy night out for us and Tim and Lindsay!
Phil’s brother Tim and wife Lindsay. Missing is a picture of the delicious pheasant quesadillas.

Down in Austin we hit a favorite Taco stand! Aunt Krissy and cousin Anna Pudding get to meet Lily. Anna dressed up for the occasion.
Uncle Jimmy and Opa!

At Grandmammy’s house!
Uncle Scot and Elle.
Squanto takes on Uncle Philip. Uncle Philip ends up with a sprained ankle.
Cuncle (cousin/uncle) Wes!
Cousins!
Lily’s first sink bath.
Friends and BBQ!
Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Sandy, Elle and Sara sit in adoration.A week with family in Texas just isn’t long enough.

>Vacation.

Thursday, June 5th, 2008

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Finally a little time to get away. Phil and I spent a few days in Minnesota and Iowa. We stopped in Sioux Falls, SD to see “the falls”. We had no idea we’d find what we did in the middle of the city. It was worth the stop.

Lily wanted to see the falls from the lookout tower. I didn’t know how many flights of stairs it would take to get up there, we’d decided not to take the elevator. Not the best decision I’ve ever made. And after the hike up she couldn’t even see over the rail. Oh well.

We made it to Otter Tail, MN where we’d spend a few days fishing. You can see the cabin we stayed in behind Phil.

Northern Pike just can’t resist a juicy silver spoon lure. We caught a lot of these, which was very fun, until I learned they have teeth. We weren’t landing cute slippery little fish anymore but little finned alligators! Phil thought they were adorable.

They have tongues too!

I caught two of these monsters.

Here’s what we were able to keep. 3 Northern Pikes and a Bass.

I wasn’t sure they were dead but got close enough for a quick picture anyway. I think my hand was ready to dole out a “Vulcan Death Grip” should anything move.


I like my Pike much better this way! Yum!

On our way to Iowa we stopped in Stillwater MN the home of Loome Theological Booksellers. Phil was in heaven or something like it I’m sure he imagines. It was fascinating to see so many books in this old church. Here’s a little about the store from their website:

“Founded in 1981 by Dr. Thomas M. and Karen Loome, Loome Theological Booksellers is dedicated to providing discerning readers with hard-to-find scholarly and classic Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and related books purchased throughout North America and Europe. Our bookshop, housed in the beautifully restored Old Swedish Covenant Church in Stillwater, is the largest secondhand dealer of theological books in the world. We supply institutional libraries, monastic communities, churches, clergy, scholars, and collectors with a vast array of books in theology, religion, and all related areas.”

Have you ever seen him happier?

My piece of heaven was found in dark chocolate peanut clusters at a little candy store downtown. Talk about “Vulcan Death Grip”, no one was gonna take that bag of chocolate from me.

Just outside of Stillwater was a German restaurant, The Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter. I couldn’t wait to have some schnitzel, Phil looked forward to the beer. We were pleased with what we found here.

How could we not have liked this place? As soon as I saw our waitress I knew this would be good! It made me really miss my dirndl.

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Our final destination was Fredericksburg, IA where Phil spent a year as Vicar at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church under Pastor Ron Koch. I was excited to see where he’d lived and learned so much about becoming a Pastor and to spend some time with the Koch family. The members of St. Paul’s were so happy to see him and meet me.

We stayed in a beautiful bed and breakfast, quite luxurious I thought.

Our room had a king size bed with soft sheets and tons of pillows! A pregnant woman’s dream come true, next to all you can eat dark chocolate peanut clusters of course.

We picked up some fried chicken and had a picnic in the park.

Visiting Fredericksburg was a nice way to end our vacation. After a potluck the church held for us we headed home.


>Travel.

Saturday, April 5th, 2008

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We finally were able to take a little vacation time. A couple weeks ago we decided to go down to Topeka KS to visit our friends Clint and Brianne and their daughter Mary for a few days. On the way we stopped in Omaha for supper and some Moose Drool Brown Ale. Yum!

Here are my fish tacos!

I was very excited about my fish tacos and the goat behind my head.
After supper we were off. Because of the Moose Drool, I took the wheel. This is what I look like driving a pickup through Kansas.
Here are the Starks. Monday they took us around the big city of Topeka. We stopped by the park so Mary and Phil could get a little play time.

Clint pushed Mary in the swing.

Phil showed her how the big kids do it.

Phil dug a hole.

And showed these kids how to ride the airplane.

I guess it looks like this.

He also rode on a big whale.
Then that mean old whale swallowed him and Mary up!

I rode the turtle. Not as exciting as the whale.

Mary wanted to go down the slide.

Phil did too.

Phil was a very busy boy, but I finally got a second for a couple pictures together.

Mary had a very good time at the park.

And so did Phil.

That night we had supper at “The Brewpub” in Lawrence where the University of Kansas is. Lawrence is a little bit of Austin in Kansas, where skinny fit jeans and expensively disheveled hair are a must. I felt right at home.

They have a Ben and Jerry’s there! Two pregnant ladies (and Clint) didn’t pass that up.

On our last day, the girls went back to Lawrence for a wonderful massage (a gift from Brianne!) and a Frappuccino at Starbucks!

I also got some pumpkin bread! I missed my pumpkin bread.

When we got back to the house, we found the boys on the porch with lunch ready for us! Phil cooked his ribs and Clint ate something out a can. It’s been a rough year for Clint.


It was good to get away for a while, relax, eat some great food and catch up with the Starks, but it was time to get back to Bancroft.