Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Courtney Swims With the Dolphins

Here are some photos aunt Suzanne sent from their trip to FL over Christmas when Courtney got to swim with the dolphins....Isn't that great they had the opportunity to do this?





Monday, January 26, 2009

LDS Film Festival

Momma came to visit Shelly and I this weekend for our annual LDS Film Festival weekend. It was a great time! We watched four movies in two days, ate delicious Thai food and went shopping. A perfect girls weekend.
These are the films we saw, in the order that I liked them:

Expiration Date directed by Rick Stevenson. This was a comedy about a guy who's father and grandfather got killed by milk trucks on their 25th birthday. Believing it to be a curse, Whats-his-name prepares for his death and lots of funny things happen, including meeting a girl, setting a narcoleptic dog free from the Pound and stealing a milk truck. I enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone.
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/10/16/080647.php





This was Demographic Winter, (directed by Rick Stout) a documentary about the ramifications of the declining population. Shelly and Mother loved it, I agreed with the information but took issue with the poor way it was presented. I guess I just have high acedemic standards. I picked up a copy for the fam if anyone wants to watch it. I'm curious to see the second part.



This was Diantha's Crossing directed by Tom Russell. It was by the BYU film school. The presentation, music, costumes and acting was all very, very good. The storyline was fine but just not the most thrilling. I guess I pioneered myself out as a child and just don't find it quite as fascinating as I used to. Also, what is with the paper chain the background of this promo photo? Is she counting down to her death or what? I'd probably watch something by Tom Russell again, I just hope his screen writers are more creative next time.

We watched a bunch of shorts too (short films under 10 minutes) and those are always my favorite.
But it's Monday again and nose to the grindstone! Time to study until my brain falls out. (It happened last week, I'm not even kidding.)
Love to all.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Family History Correction

I just got an email from my brother David who informed me of an error in my family history story. I have his quote below:

Hi Donna,

I had a chance to look at your blog. It's nice to stay in touch and see what's going on! I don't think I ever knew you went to Israel. Did you do a group tour? I had to laugh about Cami speaking Swench! I was also going to let you know that the "M" on John Eilenberger's shirt is for Middletown (NY), not Malden.

So I am going to go back and change the previous post about that. I had better recall for "Malden" because I heard of it more. Once David mentioned it, I knew he was right- Malden is where my mother spent some of her growing up years, and Middletown is where her father's family resided.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Photos for Christmas 2008











Tom models the footy-PJ's Tina got him in camo fleece










A demo of the "flow-through" ventilation with
the drop-bottom feature









Tina admires the fashion show her dad puts on








Cami and Amy & Amy shows off her snazzy water bottle Tina got her.

Shelly and Benjamin spent Christmas in Michigan with Benjamin's family. Perhaps Shelly will add a few photos so we can all recall just how handsome her husband is!

Things to work on in 2009

OK- I am not really a "resolution" type person to write down goals, but here are some things I would like to make some progress on.

FAMILY HISTORY- in particular, for John Eilenberger, my grandfather's brother. Somehow I don't have any photos to speak of of my grandfather- perhaps Aunt Berta has them all- but Mom had the high school photos of the Middleton High School football and basketball teams (1910-11&12),sitting on the steps of the high school, with John in the group. I have inherited the three photographs which now hang in the guest bathroom. John and the rest of the team are very polite and look straight ahead while the restroom is in use- they are proper New Englanders. I must say, they are some fine looking young men. And yes, I DO know which one is John. Here is what I know (off the top of my head).




John is in the middle of the photo under the man.



My grandfather (Charles) was the oldest of 3. He and John were both in WWI. I believe they were both officers, as they had both attended Cornell University and I think had graduated. Charles was an engineer. John was training to fly airplanes and had been in Europe when he contracted Influenza and was sent back- for some reason I think it was to California? (would that make sense??)- and died in the states. I have two beautiful certificates of recognition from both the US and French government. They also had a sister- Nellie ? who had contracted TB as a young adult (before the war?) and as a young adult had been sent to Arizona to a sanitarium, but she ended up dying from it anyway. So my great-grandparents had 3 children who had lived to adulthood and 2 of them passed away from different illness. Were there other siblings who had perhaps died as infants or toddlers? It would seem like it could very well be likely, but these are the only ones I know of. I guess I should include the rest of the family in my quest, as there is certainly more to learn of them. Oh, by the way, their father, my great grandfather, was a locomotive engineer and drove a line between Middleton and some other city. My mother always spoke so happily about her family- it was evident that she felt well loved by both sides of her family. Anyway, as you can see I have several items that I cherish, which keep them close to my heart, but I would really like to connect them together.









Charles and John Eilenberger's parents
visit the California Redwoods- it must
have been an exciting trip from NY!




Other Items to Work On:

READING- There are a number of books I would like to read. With the DISH TV there are so many cool things to watch on tv- the History Channel, Food Network, HGTV, Discovery, Travel Channel, etc. it gets easy to just want to veg out with the tv. Amy and I read the first two chapter of The Chosen last night- I had bought it when Shelly and I were going to Israel. After starting it, I realized I had read it a few years ago, but since we have started it, will read it again. Here are the books currently sitting beside my bed:

Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austin
The Call of the Wild- Jack London
The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner- David Bach
Why Would Anyone Join the Mormon Church?- Brad Brase
Holy Land- Whose Land?- Dorothy Drummond
Motzar's Brain and the Fighter Pilot- Richard Restak
Ebay Business-2nd Edition- Greg Holden

I also want to read the last of the trilogy A Banner Is Unfurled written my Marcie Gallacher and Kerri Bobinson- these sisters were in my stake when we were growing up, and Kerri was even my roommate at BYU.

Books I have recently read:

Starbucked- Terrific! Cami brought it home from the library and I found it extremely interesting and highly recommend it! I don't remember the author's name, but he has a great style that is very accessible and turned a subject that could have been boring into a fascinating read.

Twilight- Tina's boyfriend, Mike was reading it while we were in Park City for Christmas. He finished it and passed it on to me. It's ok, but I am not sure how it became such a best seller. As Cami said, too much writing about "smoldering eyes", etc.

So, what good books have you read recently??


LOSE 10#'S

Isn't this a perennial? The Nurti-System is coming soon- just in time to help me break free from the Reece's Peanut Butter Cups addition which I have been gobbling up (left overs from the homemade ice cream Tina made last week). Of course this morning I read that people aren't supposed to eat anything with peanut butter/nuts right now while they get to the bottom of the Salmonella poisoning. I am happy to report, the package of Reece's I ingested were just fine- no problem with that bag! (all in the name of science, you know!).


BECOME AN E-BAY SELLER

Tom has stuff all around the house he has bought and decided he doesn't need/want. He suggested that I start putting the stuff on E-Bay. The hard part will be that I don't know what a lot of the cords/electronic/gear/stuff is for or does. Can I really sell this junk? It would be great if I can!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Cami's semester abroad




In the land of the Tudors...


















Bike riding in the Netherlands




I love how the water arches over her head in the background







Posted by Picasa

That Mona Lisa smile



I found this nice photo of Cami with Mona Lisa- do you see the resemblence?




Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Icarus is not a tee shirt or a swan song

Well, I've done it again. Every semester I sign up for about a million classes, all (most) of which I find fantastically interesting and usually fit right into my major and refuse to give up. This semester I have, well, 21 credits that I am positive I cannot live without. This semesters line-up is
English, Comparative Lit, Swedish and probably French, two religion and two history classes.

Well, I decided to just audit the History of Early Medieval Europe, so that drops me to (sort of) 18, and I think the next one to go will be English, which will be gone permanently. Then I'll have History, Swedish, French conversation, 2 religion (both critical), and Comp Lit. Fifteen credits plus three of audit? That's do-able, right?

In other news, today on the south stairs up to campus there were a series of snowmen in various positions, including one Hitler-type figure that beheaded another. I now regret not taking pictures because then I would have something interesting to write on The Family Blog. C'est la vie.

Oh, I know what else. I hate French. It has completely screwed up my Swedish. I still understand it perfectly but now everything comes out one third Swedish, one third French and one third silence because I'm trying to straighten things out in my head before more Swench comes out.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Egypt- Oct. 2008 A trip to rememeber...






Shelly at the pyramids
































http://www.touregypt.net/karnak.htm Note the painted colors- still visable a vibrant in many places, untouch after approx. 4,000 years!
































Excavation of the pyramid complex done the old-fashioned back breaking way.



Shelly at the Anwar Sadat Memorial in Cairo













Ho-Hum! Just another fantastic colection of

ancient statues and temples!!!






























Shelly makes new friends in the Alabaster Mosque.



Trip to Isreal - Shelly and Donna Oct 2008

Isreali military area. We drove within site of Syria and Jordan and saw ruins (tanks, bunkers, etc) from previous military engagements. We are so glad we were able to go when we did and the situation was stable. It is an incredible area where history continues to reach from the past to still impact us today in many ways.























Hezekiah's Tunnel






http://www.geocities.com/jim_lancaster.geo/hez1.html




BYU Jerusalem Center on hill up from old city


Wailing Wall- we were able to be there a couple of time, including for the begining of their Sabbath on Friday night




Inside water cystern for Masada




Looking down from Masada





Aerial tram @ Masada


Shelly with Masada in background

Sorry about the angle on this- I don't know how to correct it. The organ at the BYU Jerusalem Center is the finest in the middle east. Paige from our group was allowed to play it and while she did so I filmed the beautiful archtecture of the building. The students hold church here and there are weekly cultural engagements for the community held here.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

So I already don't like the way my posts look- even the photos, since the comments are not next to the correct photos. Oh well- I will improve my skills on this. In the meantime, the photos give you a glimpse into what we've been up to in 2008! Look for future postings and photos for 2009. I'll try not to bore you to death!

Beautiful amy- Homecoming












One of Tom's Baby's



Amy (left) with Chruch girls camp pals (I was our ward Camp director- fun!!)



Bruce Barrett's performance with Blue Knights in SLC





Amy's Pioneer trek in Wyoming