MIKE IS IN SWITZERLAND

You may remember that Mike and I spent about a year overseas between 2002 and 2003. We lived in Switzerland while he was working on a project for Raytheon. We lived in an idyllic Alpine village in the Bernese Oberland called Kandersteg (my favorite), and a second village, Andermatt, high up in the mountains near the south east corner of the country. For the scenery, we much preferred Kandersteg, but we also enjoyed Andermatt -- mostly because of it's proximity to Italy. Well, Mike is back in Kandersteg. He left on October 25, and will be there until just before Christmas. He has a year's contract, but is sharing it with another employee. They will switch off every two months. I decided to stay home this time, since the trips were shorter, and it would have been difficult for me to get multiple leaves of absence. Here is a photo of the valley, and the village where he is working:
I will go see him for about 10 days over Thanksgiving, which will be fun. We are planning to visit Athens, Greece for two days over the holiday. I am excited about that! I would also like to go back to Zermatt (Matterhorn), and possibly Bellagio, Italy. When we were in Switzerland before, I bought a beautiful hand carved nativity set in Bellagio -- and I am going to try and convince Mike to buy me another piece for it. Or, maybe we'll go to Germany for a cuckoo clock-- or a Steinbach nutcracker...the possibilities are endless! **smile** I will update with more pictures as Mike sends them.

JACK IS ONE YEAR OLD!

It's hard to believe, but Lisa and Charles' son, Jack, is already one year old! Lisa celebrated by throwing him a costume party, very convenient -- since his birthday is near Halloween. I made Faith a Jasmine (from Aladdin) costume, and Jack dressed as her tiger sidekick. Between family and friends, there were about 30 people there. Lisa did face painting on all the kids, and we decorated pumpkin shaped sugar cookies. The kids played games, and then we had cake and ice cream. Jack got a little freaked out when we all gathered around him and sang at the top of our lungs. He cried so much, his tears smeared his "tiger whiskers"! Poor baby...But, he was happy again after he got a taste of his birthday cake. Since it was a costume party, I decided I had better dress up too, so Faith and I posed here for a Halloween picture. Mike wore a shirt that said, "This Invisible Man Costume Is Defective". That was as dressed up as I could get him!

The next day we drove out to see the new grandbaby. ISN'T HE CUTE?????? Mike's mom and great aunt came along with us, as they had not seen him yet. Here is a picture of great-grandma (Gigi for short) Doriguzzi holding the new baby: ...and reading a story to big brother Brody:This is Mike's great aunt Evelyn. She is holding the new baby, her great, great, great nephew! That's a lot of "greats"!

Of course, Mike and I had to have a picture with the Doriguzzi grandkids!

FIRE BY DAVID'S HOUSE

I am sure you have all heard that over the last few days, Southern California has big one huge blaze. Thankfully, things have calmed down a bit today, and it looks like the fires are being contained. There have been 5 fires in Santa Clarita, where David and Stacy live. They are living with Stacy's sister's family, and on Sunday night, one of the fires came over the hill down toward Stacy's sister's house. The neighborhood was evacuated, and at one point, the firefighters were battling the fire from their backyard. Dave and Stacy's new house is still being built, and is in the wood frame stage. A fire broke out about a mile from the house, which worried me. I called David (who didn't know about it at that point) so I wouldn't be alone in my worrying! He was VERY appreciative. Joke. :-) Here is a picture of the blaze that broke out down the street from them.

Thankfully, the fire did not get very close, and their house was still standing in the morning. But, some buildings nearby were not as fortunate. Our home in Moreno Valley sort of sits in a basin with several of the fires encircling us. The Santa Clarita fires are to the northwest, the Arrowhead fires are to the northeast, and the Temecula and San Diego fires are to the south. Until today, the wind was miserable. There was dust and smoke permeating the air, and everything outside was filthy. Several schools near here were closed due to poor air quality, but unfortunatly, the one where I work remained open. Darn! Several of the fires have been blamed on arsons -- I sure hope they catch whomever is responsible. The sun looked really wierd today, kind of dark orange, trying to push it's way through the smoky sky.

BRODY VISITS FOR THE WEEKEND

We kept our grandson, Brody, for the weekend while David stayed at the hospital with Stacy after the birth of baby Rhys. He had never stayed with us before, so we were very excited to have him come and visit! He really enjoyed playing with his cousins Faith and Jack, and we all loved having him with us. Auntie Lisa painted faces for Brody and Faith:After the faces were painted, we took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza for dinner. They had a great time playing all the kiddee games and riding the toddler rides. After we came home, we went swimming in the spa, and had a great time splashing and playing with the kids. On Sunday we all piled into Lisa's van, and drove up to Oak Glen, southern California's apple country. We visited the pumpkin patch, and ate some yummy caramel apples:We took the kids to a petting zoo, and they all enjoyed seeing the farm animals. As you can see, they ignored the sign on the fence. They can't read, but what's OUR excuse??It was really fun for Mike and I to watch Faith and Brody playing together. They had a great time this weekend, and became good friends. Tonight we went to visit baby Rhys (pronounced Reece) who is home from the hospital. Hooray!What a joy! 4 grandbabies in 3 years. Our laps are full of blessings!

DAVID'S HOUSE

I wanted to update you all on the progress of Dave and Stacy's new house. They have finally gotten all the walls up, and are busy putting in the electrical wiring. Below is a picture of Stacy (pre-baby delivery) and Brody inside their new home:

This is a picture taken from the backyard, looking at the back of the house. The kitchen window and slider door are visible beneath the patio cover. There will be a second story above the patio.Here is the front of the house:

And now...the turret over the front door is finished:

OUR NEWEST GRANDSON!

David and Stacy are the proud parents of a new baby boy! They have not decided on a spelling for his name yet, but it will either be Reece William Doriguzzi, or Rhys William Doriguzzi. Rhys is the Welsh spelling, but is still pronounced Reece. His middle name is for my dad; Charles William Johnson, David's grandpa. Here is a picture of the Doriguzzi boys: Brody, David, and Grandpa Mike holding baby Reece:He was born at 7:54 a.m. on Friday, October 5. He weighed 9 pounds, 9 ounces, and was 21 3/4 inches long. He arrived by cesarean section, and both he and Stacy are doing well. We are happy to have big brother Brody with us for the weekend, while David stays at the hospital with Stacy and the new baby. Here is a picture of their family:More pictures to come soon!