Camping in Browing County, Indiana

 Once a year my parents, all four of us siblings and our families if we have them, and my sister-in-law's parents go camping together.  We had a great time.

The young mom are looking good in red.  My sister Ann is holding our nephew Josiah.  Amy is Steve's wife and Josiah's mom.

This is what Chloe did through most of her first camping experience.  I guess camping makes you tired when you are only 7 weeks old.

This is BRILLIANT!!!  Most of us adults went into Nashville, IN to window shop...or at least that is what I did.  But I found this great quote and I loved it!

I think the older two nephews, Julian and Eli, might have  wore out uncle Caleb!  I guess this will work for a bed!

Josiah (10 months) begs to be freed from his prison.   Will Auntie Bonnie have pity on him...his chances are good that she will!

Josiah and Bonnie pose for the camera.  How cute are we!!!

I love my younger bother.  We get to have great adventures together fairly often.

Eli (3) enjoys the swing.  I think he likes the fact that he is chained into his seat...it gives him a bit of security.

Now we come to Julian (5)...who is happy to be free.  I think he spent a fourth of his time that weekend of this tire swing asked to be pushed faster and higher!  What a little dare devil.

Hanging with the Family

 Okay, it is true, I love my family and want to share them with you! 

This is my Mom, Kay, with my sister, Ann's little ones: Chloe and Eli.

My Mom loves being a Grammy.  Here she is with Ann, Chloe, and Eli.

This is my nephew Josiah.  He is my brother Steve's youngest boy.  Don't you love his hair...he did this to himself!
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Hello Chloe Sophia Watkins

On my first full day back in the United States, I have the privilege to meet my first niece, Chloe Sophia Watkins.  She is six weeks old here.   She was born on May 9, 2011.

Caleb and I are fighting the jet lag as we enjoy time with our only niece.

Auntie Bonnie is happy, but little Chole is not so much!

The Castle Hoch Koenigsburg

This is my wonderful Mom and myself as we look out at the vast area below the Castle, Hoch Koenigsburg, in France. 

Inside the castle, that was remodeled in the early 1900s, there is this cool entrance way to a winding staircase that takes us up to where the castle residents lived.  

In the living quarters there was this cool and ancient crown.  Not sure I would want to wear it on my head...but you know fashion changes with the ages.

This is a cool chandelier that my dad, a deer bow hunter, would truly enjoy.  Notice that the deer head is a European mount...hmmmm...I guess we are in Europe.

The castle boasted some very beautiful stained glass windows in the chapel area of the castle.  This one caught my eye. 

At the top of the castle there is a room with cannons and this amazing view.  I guess you had to be able to see the enemy coming.  There were also a lot of windows for men to shoot their bows and arrows from.

This is what the castle looks like when you lean out of the window.  It is very cool and I felt like a mid-evil princess.  Walking through history was very fun. 

Then we drove some of the wine routes, that many American pay big bucks to travel and we stopped at this quaint mid-evil town, Riquewihr (pronounced Rick-veer).  We bought some ice cream and did a bit of window shopping.

Struthof the Concentration Camp in Natzweiler, France

This is the entrance to the camp.  The prisoners would arrive on the train that  was at the bottom of the mountain.  It was about a 3 miles hike uphill!  What a horrible experience and then to be greeted by this gate after soldiers have been pushing you and threatening you with guns.

 This camp is in an extremely mountainous area.  You can see where the foundations of the many barracks were on the hillside.  The prisoners at the camp became so weak they could barely climb the steps to their barracks.  Often they would have to put both hands behind one knee and lift it up to the next step.  They they would stand up and begin the whole process again. 

This camp was mainly for political prisoners, or people who went against the Nazi propaganda.  Many people died. This camp also had a "medial facility" where they would do experiments on the prisoners.  The doctor who came up with the cure for typhoid worked here.  These "doctors" called the people they worked on guinea pigs.  These people suffered even  more that what was needed.  Then, the man who found the cure for typhoid was given the Nobel Peace Prize just a few years after he worked at this camp!  That does not sound like a very peaceful thing to do...make so many people suffer!

I do not have too many pictures because it is such a hard subject matter.  When I left I was sick to my stomach and this was my second time to be here.

Interlocken and Beatenburg, Switzerland in the Alps

We drove about 2 hours to the Alps and in Interlocken we saw these 2 quaint churches.

Then from Interlocken we drove up into the Alps to Beatenburg.  There we walked around and found this cool fountain. Notice the nicely stacked wood in the background.

In Beatenburg, there is a nice view of Thurn Lake, which the city of Interlocken sits along.  It is so BEAUTIFUL!!!

The Roman Ruins Near Basel, Switzerland

 Mom, Caleb and I went to see the Roman ruins.  In the museum there was a cool "Roman House" that we were able to walk through.  This is the slave families quarters. 

Notice that the potty is in the kitchen next to the stove.  I am not sure that is up to code...

In the butcher's shop, the butcher's wife stuffs sausage into intestine skins.

Here are some Roman men working with iron.

Mom and Caleb take a break at this cool ancient table.

This is a mosaic that was found in the Roman ruins.  They used plaster and paint to fix the missing pieces of the mosaic. 

Salsenberg Castle near Kandern, Germany

This is the tower that is left of Salsenberg Castle. I was able to see the top of this tower from the front door of my dorm. This was a monastery built in the 1300s.

Mom climbs up the tower stairs...there are quite a few.

At the top Caleb enjoy a great view. Many BFA kids like to come here and camp on top of the tower. I know they have been there because they have scratched their names into the door...bad BFA kids!

Lorrach, Germany...the Castle and Town

We went to see the ruins of the Lorrach Castle. Mom and Caleb explore an old room.

Mom and Caleb on top of the "Green Tower."

Caleb gets a bird's eye view of Lorrach.

Then we go into town and enjoy some German Bratwursts with mustard! Perfect!

Caleb and I enjoy the tasty goodness! The Affelshorle (apple juice & mineral water) and Coke are cool and delicious.

Back in Kandern at my dorm we enjoy a splendid game of Zug Zum Zug or the Train Game. We are on the balcony off of my dorm room. Notice that the neighbor has his tractor parked in the garage next to the house...that is German style. All the farmers live in town.

All of the pretty flowers! We saw these on the walking path towards downtown Kandern.

Caleb and Mom visit me in Germany

Mom and Caleb flew into Basel, Switzerland and we left the airport from the French side and then drove into Germany where I took them to to dinner and then to Hoch Blauen. On this hill there are two dorms. Mom enjoys her view.

Mom and Caleb are tired, but glad that they finally made it. They missed the flight to Basel due to a late plane.

When we got to the top of the mountain we saw this beautiful sunset. In the distance is France and Switzerland.

I love the rolling blue mountains of Germany.

2011 Graduation

Palmgarten had seven 2011 Seniors. All of them have been here since their sophomore year when I became a Palmgarten RA. They are very special to me.

The juniors and a mother await the graduation ceremony to begin.

A happy grad marches to the front of the auditorium.

The 2011 Black Forest Academy Senior Class!!

A, the valedictorian gives his speech to the BFA senior class.

H awaits her diploma as kind words are said about her.

S became a bit emotional as she realized her time at BFA was coming to an end.

BFA Grad is such a mix of emotions. You can see both the happiness and the sadness.

Me and E!

Me and D!

Me and S!

Me and H...getting ready for a hug!

Me and J!

The seniors all left for a cruise on the Rhein River and we took the rest of our underclassmen to McDonald's, a dorm favorite.