Our 2012 Christmas

We are enjoying the best part of Christmas hanging out with the family. Jared Skyped on Christmas Day and, once we got a little issue with the sound worked out (quite miraculously), we were able to talk with him for 2 hours! Finally, we got to see and hear him and get more details about what is going on in Honduras. He and his new companion are reopening an area along the coast. He is loving it and is only a few blocks from the beach. They are teaching and helping out a very poor family there with 4 children and no electricity. 

Gingerbread Highrise and Cottages

Family Christmas photo with the Tree...

Miss M and Lilly - who may sometimes also be called Lilliputian!

Oceanside Thanksgiving

Catching Waves

Spencer really loves the Ocean. He kept telling us "Water makes me happy!"

 Catching Crabs

Oceanside Pier at Night

More from the Mission

Here are some of the latest photos from Honduras. Jared has recently recovered from Dengue Fever which is spread by mosquitos. He had to have his blood taken in a hospital there several times to monitor his platelet count. That must have been quite an experience and we are glad he is feeling better. After talking to some people who have been to that area, we have been assured that the hospitals in Fesitrahn are pretty decent. He is serving in a suburb of San Pedro Sula and it isn't as poor there as in the more rural villages.

He is working hard, having a lot of success and some really crazy experiences. 

Historic Spanish Fort

Happy Halloween 2012

Trick or Treat!

Halloween Party with Friends

Friendly Aquaponics

Bart's latest venture : Aquaponics. It is like Hydroponics...with fish. So garden plants are fed with the water the fish are living in, the water cycled through the growing plants is filtered and returned to the fish. The plants grow 10X faster and the fish are edible as they mature. He has made the great sacrifice of going to Hawaii on behalf of the Asante Foundation for training! It is hoped that this will be a good system to set up in Kenya, giving new opportunities for them to have food and revenue. For more information on Aquaponics, check out the Friendly Aquaponics website. 

Smaller Tabletop System

 Large Greenhouse System

Picking Guavas for Breakfast

Aloha!

Spooky Family Photos

October should be crispy and spooky...and everyone should have a few creepy family pictures to display. I found this great tutorial for transforming your cute kids into headless cute kids and this is what we came up with (I think I need to use simpler backgrounds next time):

Whaaa haa haaaa (maniacal laugh)

Fall is the Best

Sunday Afternoon in the Canyon

Kids in the leaves...and the "far off gaze."

Fall is not complete without a little soccer. An extra treat at Josh's last game...hot air balloons.

MMHS Homecoming 2012

Kimball and Lexi

Kimball is doing his far off gaze....his favorite pose for family pictures too!

USS Little Sahara Family Outing

US Synthetic organizes an overnighter at Little Sahara every September. There is lots of 4 wheeling, motorcycling and a late night movie on a portable big screen. Our kids like the all you can eat candy and soda! They always come home with a little extra.
This year we rented a side by side and all had a blast driving on the dunes. And Bart did not disappoint with the wild rides he gave...dizzyness, butterflies and whiplash...just as good as a rollercoaster!

Jared in Honduras

Here's a little photo of Jared with his zone. He is currently serving in a town called Fesitranh, where he has to shower with a bowl of cold water and has eaten Iguana. He is fully immersed in Spanish as his companion does not speak any English. It sounds like they are having success and working hard! If any of you would like updates, please let us know and we will add you to the email list. Maybe we will even do a blog???

Munich and vicinity

BMW plant tour...Isetta 300...so cute!

A day trip to Salzburg, the quaint little town where Mozart was born. The Sound of Music was based here, although just a loose fictional representation of reality. This church is the inspiration for the movie scene where the Von Trapp family hid when fleeing the country.

Only cute signs here...even McDonalds had quaint little hanging sign.

A day in Dachau...sobering.

Neuschwanstein Castle...intrigue, mystery, tragedy and lunacy make up the story of this amazing castle. The inside was perfection. I would love to have had King Ludwig as my decorator!

Making Soap in Point Richmond

Large Batch/Production Soapmaking with David at the Nova Studio.

Brooke and I spent a weekend learning advanced techniques of soap design, hot process and going into production. We may have found some ideas for teaching soapmaking to Ethiopians with minimal resources...and we definitely got big ideas for making all kinds of soap in our homes.