Guiness Record

Last month the Church cooperated with the North Carolina School of Science and Math, WalMart, Chick-Fil-A and others, collecting and processing 559,688 pounds of non-perishable food, thereby breaking the world record. Here is the food, along with many of the key leaders. Marilyn is in the back row, center. We'll let you decide who among this motley crew came over after church and which rode the school bus from the dorms.

Spring in North Carolina

I was in New York last Thursday. Two scheduled meetings turned into one meeting and a cancellation, giving me a couple of empty hours on the ground. I went to B&H Photo, over on 9th Avenue at 34th Street. I was looking for a pretty good, light-weight digital point-and-shoot. The Canon "PowerShot" S95 commended itself so I bought one. It will take the place of a big, heavy SLR when I'm more interested in snapshots than carefully composed works of art. These three were taken with the new Canon. Not bad, right? (Well, the NY skyline was taken through a plate glass window so you'll see some reflection if you look closely.)

Spring is coming to Raleigh. It seems a bit slow and fitful this year. We've had some very warm days and a lot of cool ones, too. It is always light-green this time of year; and there's a fair amount of color, too--dogwoods, redbuds and the like. In the early morning, with the low light and long shadows, our back yard is a delight.
But there is something terribly wrong! We have this nice, big yard with grass, a deck and even a playground . . . but there aren't any kids! The call goes out: Come to Raleigh to see us!

Christmas 2010

After last year, we expected a quiet Christmas. Then Meredith had little Emmett a week early and they decided the best thing would be to come to Raleigh. Not quite as lively as with 21 people under one roof, but festive and fun. nevertheless.

Snow is pretty rare in Raleigh but we got a bunch of it Christmas night and the day after Christmas. We lost power for about six hours as the weight of the snow on the trees downed some power lines. Our trusty generator kept us from freezing to death. The snow makes for nice photo opportunities don't you think?

We had the shed cleaned up and restained in the late fall so it made a fine backdrop for some pictures.

Bright and early Monday morning, Jim decided he needed to build an igloo. He had lots of help. Pretty good, no?

. . . and the following Sunday (this morning), after three days of 60+ degree weather . . . .

Alina

Alina Kay Taggart -- Our newest grandchild and a rare granddaughter. She is a sweet and lovely girl. Here she is, all ready to head off to church to be blessed.

She is a welcomed part of a great little (well, not so little) family.

A week in Germany

John's friend, Dieter Wiese, turned 70 on May 15th, the day after John turned 64. His children planned a birthday party and invited John as a surprise. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Sunday afternoon in the garden. Dieter and Crystel are seated. Roman, Andrea, Aaron and Simon (the baby) are on the left. Heike, their oldest daughter, is to Crystel's left, in front of her husband, Holger. The tall young man in the back is Heike's son, Tobias. To his right is Tabea and Ann Katrin is to his left.

Old friends . . . .

Tabea is a student at the University of Aachen, one of the oldest and best universities in Germany. It is the birthplace of Karl the Great (Charlemagne) and was the seat of power in Europe during the 8th and 9th centuries. The Aachen Cathedral was started during his lifetime, with the domed part having been completed while he was still alive.

Four knights and a damsel at the steps of the Rathaus in Aachen.



South of Aachen is the Eifel region of Germany, on the border with Belgium and Luxemburg. This is the region through which allied forces invaded Germany in early 1945.

The Mosel River flows through the Eifel. This is the great wine-growing center of Germany.

We stayed in a 450 year old converted farm. Our room was in the building behind Dieter and Crystel--a converted pig barn.

A street in the village of Bernkastel-Kues. The hillsides on which the vinyards were planted are extraordinarily steep. Slate is mixed with soil and the roots of the vines sink deep into the rocky soil. Water from below percolates up through the layers of slate to feed the vines.

The narrowest house in Germany . . . .

There are wonderful, picturesque castles--some in ruins and some well preserved--all along the Mosel. This one sits above the town of Cochem, about 50 kilometers from Koblenz--where the Mosel joins the mighty Rhine River.

Williamsburg--Fall 2009

Nancy and Doug, Norma and Theron, and Marilyn and Jerry flew out to Raleigh for a family gathering in Colonial Williamsburg. We stayed for a week at the Marriott Vacation Club resort at Ford's Colony. The accommodations were nice; the get-together was wonderful. Here are a few pictures at some of the sites we visited.
This is the whole group on the banks of the James River, between Williamsburg and Jamestown.

Sisters and brother in a Powhatan dug-out canoe, in a recreation of the Jamestown settlement (1607--the first English colony in the New World).

A native American--sort of--demonstrating the craft of twine-making in Jamestown.

The whole gang again, at Black Beach on the end of Jamestown Island.

Dave and Shelly Myers drove down from California, MD for a day.

Wedding & Family Reunion

The centerpiece of our family reunion was the marriage of Jack to Joanna Hawkins on Friday, June 26th. Here is the lovely bride and her happy husband just outside the doors of the Timpanogos Temple.

The entire wedding party at the reception that evening at the Lion House in Salt Lake.

Joanna's parents, Matt and Shannon Hawkins.

. . . and Jack's parents.

The whole Taggart clan--six couples and 13 grandchildren, near the entrance to the temple.

The traditional sisters and brother photograph--Norma Eberhard, Nancy Williams, John Taggart, Marilyn Hadd.

Luke with his Grandma Taggart.

There are over 800 other pictures. But you'll just have to wait until the photo album is finished.