A May Family Christmas

Everyone knows when you spend the holidays with family you take a ton of photos - or not. Here are some of the few photos we took during our great Christmas week with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents at Grandma Jean and Grandpa May's beautiful new home. (All the really great photos were taken by the other family members - but we got a few!) Here are some of our favorites.

Although I (Bobbie) had my misgivings about gingerbread house decorating, Amy made it a real hit! What a cool aunt! The girls had a great time decorating and the boys waited so they could join in the eating.





Grandma Jean was the glue that held Christmas together.

Aunt Debbie and Uncle Gary made Christmas even "Christmas-ier"

Okay, the ONLY photos of these brothers we actually took were of them in their pjs with their coffee. Looks like a cozy Christmas to me!

The other brothers (smile)

Surrounded by grandkids!

December in Canterbury

Canterbury Cathedral

Yes, here we are in Canterbury, England. Why did we choose Canterbury of all places to make a quick two night visit to? History of course! The Canterbury Cathedral is the place where Thomas Becket was murdered as a result of a hasty, angry outburst from his friend King Henry II of England. Later, this place was said to be a place where miracles happened (who knows?) Also, of great importance, this is the resting place of the Black Prince. For those who love literature, Canterbury will bring to mind The Canterbury Tales of Geoffrey Chaucer. To learn more about these famous folks follow our "Learn with Us" links.

The place in Canterbury Cathedral where Thomas Becket was murdered



In front of the Cathedral a really nice man offered to take our photo

Entering the world of the Canterbury Tales and St. Augustine's Abby

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And what do you do when you only have four hours to spend in London? Go see the British Library of course. Here we found great treasures on our "history" vacation: the original Magna Carta of King John, sketches done by Da Vinci, the original copy of Beowolf, writings from Jane Austen, a Gutenburg bible, hand-signed documents from Queen Elisabeth - and these are only a sample of their collection!

Christmas market in Trier

Here we are in Trier, a popular city for us to bring guests. Every year there is a busy Christmas market. We are here this time with our friends Jen, Ben, Hannah, Philip, Steve, and Abby. No history trip this time, just gluwein and holiday cheer.

Trifels Castle

Bob took the kids to see Trifels Castle. What is this and why is he here? Well, its history again of course.
Could Trifels Castle be where King Richard the Lionhearted was held captive by the Duke of Austria?

It is said no one knew where he was being hidden and England mourned him as dead. As the story goes one of the men from his court, Blondel, did not believe King Richard was dead and went out from England intent on finding him. Blondel searched the castles and towers of Europe stopping to sing an English song and listening for an answer. Finally, one day he hummed the song Greensleeves and heard an answering hum and then a voice singing the next verse. He has found his king! According to legend this led to the king's freedom in exchange for a large ransom.

Trifels Castle is only about an hour from our house. To learn more see our "Learn with Us" links.

Little Medieval Festival

Where are we? I'm not sure but we followed some flyers to a small medieval market and found ourselves here. We listened to some actual German medieval songs sung by people who appeared to be actually out of the medieval ages. We took a small break while there to learn how to aim and shoot. Okay, we occassionally enjoy following small flyers, getting lost, and seeing where we may end up. Its fun!

Brugge and the ocean

Brugge is one of our favorite places. This time we went to the coast and enjoyed the visit with family. Scott, Amy and the cousins make vacations even more fun! We enjoyed be able to travel with Miss Winnie, Amy's mom.

Lego Land with the cousins

What could be more fun for six cousins ages 3 to 11? Lego Land! We waited for about 9 months to go to Lego Land this time in Germany just so our first trip could be with the cousins.

Lego Land's Lego City

Happy Uncle Scott and Aunt Amy

Everyone enjoys a boat ride! The kids even got to go by themselves.


Bob worked really hard to completely soak EVERYONE passing by. Hey - Legoland isn't just fun for kids!

The end of a great day!

Out and about with the cousins

The cousins are here! Woohoo! We had the best time when Uncle Scott and Aunt Amy brought the cousins Abby, Harry, and Howard were here to visit us in Germany. Miss Winnie, Aunt Amy's mom was a special treat for us to spend time with too. Here are some photos of our "out and about" fun.

Abby with her Grandma Winnie

Alexandra and Abby at the pool

Playing at the fountain in Ramstein village

Here are the kids at the Dinosaur park in Kaiserslautern.